The Nightingale's Song
by tomboy101
Summary: The La Push Wolf Pack might be the only Shifting group of humans we've ever heard of but they aren't alone. Enter Chris Nightingale, a Cherokee girl from south Texas. She's self-reliant, independent, and stubborn. Look out La Push, here she comes.
1. Chris

**Tomboy101: I do not own _Twilight_ or any of the characters mentioned in the books. If I did Bella would have been a very different person, I'd be very rich, and Jake would have ended up with someone a little more age-appropriate, not that I have anything against Nessie or anything, in fact I think the idea of her is pretty neat but their relationship is a little inappropriate in my opinion. I do, however, own all of the characters you do not recognize most of which, if not all, appear in this chapter. Happy reading! **

**P.S. yes, this is a completely different version of my original Nightingale story, but you'll get used to it, plus I think this version is better**

* * *

Back when I was thirteen I used to live on an Indian Reservation called La Push in Washington near a small town called Forks, but then we moved to my dad's home village in Texas. My dad was a Cherokee tribe member so when my grandfather joined the Elder Counsel we had to move back so Dad could be head of the family. It wasn't our first move. We moved away from Texas when I was six so I could only remember some people. I remembered my cousin Clara Kohl who is about two years younger than me. That was who was riding in the car beside me right now, actually, as we drove from the Port Angeles Airport to Forks, Washington. My two twin brothers, Michael and Andrew, were in the third row of seats while my younger sister Melody rode shotgun with Mom driving our family Sequoia.

In all honesty I am thrilled that we are moving. I loved Texas but the Cherokee Elder Counsel scared me. You see, when I was fourteen I went through The Change and Shifted for the first time. Cherokee Spirit Warriors are werecats, they can change into large cats at will and I am one of them, the only girl in a century. It is because of this that we are moving. The Elder Counsel wants to take my brothers and I away from my mother and put us in a proper Cherokee household.

My dad died maybe six months after we moved to Texas along with my aunt and uncle, Clara's parents, in a car crash. Ever since then living amongst the tribe had been pretty weird. We hadn't had a voice in any major decision, plus my grandfather kept giving me strange looks, like he was expecting something from me. It wasn't until I first phased that I fully understood what was going on and what all the late-night fights between Mom and Grandfather were about.

"Hey Chris!" I looked around. Clara was smiling at me and pointing out the window at a house nestled amongst a lot of greenery. I smiled sadly. It was not our old house. Our old house was on the nearby reservation called La Push, but because Mom was a white woman we couldn't live there. So instead Mom had bought a house half-way between La Push and Forks, a Colonial-style, two-story, antebellum style home with a wrap-around porch, green painted shutters and white columns.

"We're here!" Mom said happily, pulling into the driveway. Everyone perked up and the boys actually cheered. We all piled out of the car screaming, yelling and trying to get to the house first. Oddly enough, Mom beat us all, even me with my superhuman cougar speed. "Your rooms have already been set up! The girls are upstairs, the boys are downstairs!" Mom called after us as we all rushed past her to different parts of the house.

Melody, Clara and I dashed up the large curving staircase. It didn't take me long to find my room. It was exactly the way it had been in Texas. The walls were sky blue, the ceiling was white and the floor was dark hardwood. Everything was already set up, or at least all the furniture was, there were still quite a few boxes piled up on the floor that I had to unpack. We had spent our last week in Texas in a hotel just so all our stuff could be moved in ahead of us. I jumped onto my bed, relishing in the feel of the memory foam mattress and luxurious comforter and sheets. God I love my bed.

After reveling in the familiar sensation of my own mattress after a week in an unfamiliar hotel bed I got up and walked over to one of the windows. My room was a corner room so there were windows—on of which was a window seat—on the two adjoining walls.

In my old La Push room one of my windows had always been my favorite: it had looked directly into my old best guy friend's bedroom. Jacob Black, how I missed that boy. Way back when, we had been inseparable, along with our two other best friends Embry Call and Quil Ateara, not to mention us always steeling Melody from her friends cause Embry had such a major crush on her. Seeing those boys had always been the highlight of my day. It had been a long time since we had seen each other though. Things had changed, more than I ever wanted to admit.

I leaned against the windowsill and sighed, looking out into the lush Washington forest. I wanted so badly to drive to La Push and see Jacob but I couldn't just go over there unannounced. I pushed myself away from the window and went next door to Melody's room. "Hey, Mels," I said knocking on the open door.

Melody whipped around from where she had been looking, almost longingly, out of her own window. Now, there's probably something I should mention about Melody. She looks like a run-way model, no joke. Long silky black hair, around 5'9" or 10", big doe eyes. She's absolutely stunning, so when she looked at me with that surprised expression and the light shining from the window behind her it really hit me just how beautiful she really was, and trust me, we've used that beauty to get into places we probably shouldn't have. And it wasn't just her beauty that set Melody apart from the rest of our family. She would never become a werecat. She didn't have the eyes the color of newly polished copper like Michael, Andrew and I.

I smirked at her. "Looking for something?" I asked.

Melody's tan cheeks blushed. "N-no."

"Really? Cause I'm pretty sure Embry's house is in that direction." I ducked, laughing, when Melody threw one of the purple pillows from her bed at me.

"Shut up," she muttered, fixing me with a playful glare.

"What? I was only—"

"Being annoying? Yes, you're very good at that."

"Hey! That's not very nice," I whined.

"I don't have to be nice," Melody quipped, "I'm your sister."

I glared at her but said nothing, knowing I was beat. Melody was the witty sister after all. With a sigh I collapsed on her purple-sheeted bed. She mimicked me and together we stared up at her white painted ceiling.

We lay there for several minutes, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Personally, I was thinking about how different things were going to be now that we had moved away from Texas and, more importantly, the Elder Council. In a way I was almost glad we weren't living on the La Push Quileute Indian Reservation. After three years I had a healthy fear of Elder Councils that I did not plan on conquering anytime soon. But I was also a little sad. Unless I ran into my old friends on accident I didn't see myself finding them anytime soon. I really couldn't just walk up to the Black house on the Reservation and expect them to welcome me with open arms. It would be a major intrusion on their privacy, not to mention embarrassing if he didn't remember me.

I frowned up at the ceiling, trying to imagine what Jake might be like these days. Would he still be tall and lanky? Would he be built like the Spirit Warriors back in Texas, all wirey muscle and agility? Would his personality have changed? Did he still have that dry sense of humor and sarcasm that I loved? I tried to picture his face but all that came to mind was the pre-teen boyishness and goofy smile I had grown up with and adored. I shifted on the bed, the thought of Jake changing not sitting well with me for some reason.

"So what do you think?" Mel asked from beside me.

"About what?" I said lazily, still half lost in my meandering thoughts.

"Anything, everything. The house. Moving. Going to a new school with only two months left even though you already have your GED."

I smiled; leave it to Mel to be worrying about practical things. "I like the house," I said slowly. "It's very nice, lots of room so we aren't all piled up on top of each other which is good." Our Texas home had not been nearly as spacious. After Clara moved in Mom had given us girls the master bedroom and had taken Melody's and my old room, but it had still been cramped. "I'm not real worried about school," I continued. "It shouldn't be too hard since, as you said, there are only two months left. Plus, from what I hear, you're signed up for courses you've already taken because they don't have an AP program here. Not to mention the fact that you're absolutely gorgeous and will have all the guys fawning all over you in about two seconds flat."

Melody giggled and elbowed me playfully in the ribs. "Don't be silly," she said, "I'm not that pretty."

The sincerity of her protest made a bubble of affection grow in my chest. Melody was so sweet and innocent. She honestly didn't have a clue about how most people saw her. It was a trait that endeared her to everyone, even the girls who would usually hate someone so beautiful out of jealousy.

I heard a male voice shout my name from downstairs and I sat up with a groan, our sister bonding time done for the day. "I'd better go see what the twerp wants," I said as I stood.

I left Melody's room and made my toward the upstairs landing. I leaned against the railing and took a deep breath. It felt so good to be home. True, I hadn't been born in La Push, but I felt more comfortable here than any other place on earth. My father had felt the same. That was why he and Uncle Jim had moved up here. La Push and Forks was where Dad had met Mom, who had been a nurse at the small clinic in Forks, and Uncle Jim met Aunt Katy, a Quileute native. Not long after both couples married they moved back to Texas and one year later I was born.

"Hey Sissy?"

I jerked my head up. Michael, one of my little brothers, stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at me with glowing eyes the color of a brand new penny. "Yea, Mikey?"

"Do you think we could go for a run?"

I smiled. Michael was the sweet twin, always polite, though in all honesty I thought both of them were hellions about half the time. "Sure, I don't see why not. Go get Andy and we'll go."

Michael ran back down the hall. I watched him go before going back to my room and changing into a pair of blue men's basketball shorts, a black sports bra and a black tank top, no shoes. Once properly clothed I made my way downstairs to the kitchen. Clara and Melody were sitting at the morning room table, lounging in two of the wooden chairs. "I'm going to take the boys for a run," I said as I opened the fridge.

"In that?" Clara asked.

I pulled my head out of the fridge. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I asked, glancing down at my black tank top and blue men's basketball shorts

Clara looked me up and down but it was Melody who spoke. "Just remember to take your shirt off this time. Mom won't be happy if she has to take you shopping just because you forgot."

I rolled my eyes. "That was only once!"

"More like ten times," Clara muttered, just loud enough for me to hear.

"Hey! Don't gang up on me! That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair Your Highness," Melody teased.

I stuck out my tongue at her but before I could retort two six foot tall boys, both with dark skin, round faces, high cheekbones and silky smooth black hair wearing nothing but blue jean cutoffs came bouncing into the kitchen. "We're ready to go Chris!" they said in unison.

I smiled. Andrew and Michael were possibly the sweetest guys on the planet, not that they had any choice in the matter since they were raised by three females. They were such ladies magnets it was ridiculous. They were also identical. The only real way to tell them apart was by scent—Michael smelled like sage in summer, Andrew smelled like the crisp air of fall—and their personalities—Michael was the goody-goody, Andrew was the rebel and both were devil-spawn, though that might just be the big sister in me talking. "Alright boys," I laughed, "let's go."

We trooped out of the house through the back door and made our way to the tree line behind our house. Once we were in the safety of the trees I stripped off my shirt and left it hanging on a branch. I glanced over at Michael and Andrew and saw that they had already Changed. I took a minute to marvel at my brothers. Both were over five feet tall, their glowing copper eyes looking down at me. Michael was on my left, a great tawny mountain lion with a black tipped tail and a white underbelly and throat. Andrew stood off to my right, his fur the color of sand and his ears tipped black instead of his tail and his underbelly and throat an off-white color. They looked strong, healthy, but there was still a cub-like ganglyness to them, their paws didn't quite fit the rest of their bodies, like they were too big.

I smiled up at them, a burning tremor racking my body. My limbs caught fire, muscles contorting, bones popping out of their sockets, elongating then snapping back into place. The pain lasted for barely a minute before I stood on all fours. I shook out my fur the deep gold of wild honey. My claws extended, digging into the rich earth beneath my paws. I stretched out my limbs. It felt so good to be back in this shape. I had been unable to Shift for so long and it felt wonderful. I felt truly alive for the first time in months though it seemed more like years. My skin hummed; I was aware of everything in the forest. Not twenty yards north a mother deer had caught our scent and was now hurrying her fawn as fast as she could away from us. Behind me the floorboards of our house creaked as Melody moved around in her upstairs bedroom, undoubtedly unpacking whatever she hadn't gotten to already. I rolled my shoulders, the tight muscles stretching and then relaxing.

_You done now?_

I glanced sharply at Andrew. _Patience is a virtue_, I chided.

_Yeah, yeah. Can we just go?_

I mentally rolled my eyes at him but didn't reply, choosing instead to begin trotting north, heading deeper into the Washington forest. Michael and Andrew fell in behind me. A powerful feeling of belonging came across the mental link that connected me to my brothers. A sense of unity and oneness with my Pride engulfed me. Memories of running with my Pride Brothers flooded my senses. I was bounding across our ancestral land, hunting with the Pride. We were awe inspiring in our strength, terrible in our ferocity as we defended our land from invaders.

_Quit with the melodrama!_ Michael whined.

_This is what happens when you put a girl in charge,_ Andrew said with a shake of his head.

I whirled around and launched myself at Andrew, yowling playfully and batting at him with soft paws. We tumbled to the ground, rolling across the wet earth. Michael bounced after us, piling into our mock fight. We roughhoused for several minutes before I managed to wriggle my way out from underneath the dog pile my brothers had managed to bury me in. _Geeze, y'all way a ton! You really need to lay off the sweets._

Michael hissed at me and sent me the image of him sticking out his tongue at me through our mental link. _I am not fat!_

I rolled my eyes but chose to ignore him. _Well, chicos, I think we've had enough fun for today. We should probably head back._

_We're not going hunting? _Andrew asked; he sounded disappointed.

I shook my head._ Not tonight, maybe tomorrow. Mom said she had something special planned for dinner._

_Ooh, what kind of special?_ Michael sounded excited, like he normally did whenever anyone mentioned food.

_No idea, but we'd better get going if we don't want Mel and CJ to eat it all._

_They wouldn't._

_No, but I might!_ I leapt past them, running as fast as my legs could carry me towards home.

_That's not fair!_

_Hey!_

I laughed as I heard them crashing after me. Usually Andrew was the fastest with his more streamline build but I had managed a big enough lead that there was no way he could catch up, let alone Michael who was built more for fighting than running. I skidded to a stop where I had left my tank top, Changing back and grabbing it off the tree branch before making a mad dash for the house as I pulled the tank top over my head. Behind me I could hear Michael and Andrew's pounding feet, only four meaning they were human again. I flung myself through the door proclaiming triumphantly, "I win!"

Mom just looked up from the marble kitchen counter where she was making dinner. Melody and Clara weren't in the morning room.

I had forgotten that there were two three-hundred pound boys following me and when they came bursting through the door I ended up getting plowed.

We crashed to the tile floor, me on bottom, Andrew on top of me and Michael on top of him. The breath was knocked out of my lungs and tears sprang to my eyes and I could feel my face turning purple. I gasped, trying desperately to force my lungs full of that live-giving oxygen. When I finally did manage to breathe I voiced my first thought. "OW!" I yelled from under the pile of tan legs and arms I was buried in.

"Boys," Mom chided not even looking up to see her sons crushing the life out of her eldest daughter, "get off of your sister."

"Oops," Michael said with a guilty laugh, "sorry Sissy." Carefully he disentangled himself from the pile of bodies and then helped Andrew up, effectively freeing me from my captivity.

I breathed in deep, finally able to breathe properly now that their weight was off me. Together they bent down, grabbed me under my arms and hauled me to my feet. "Watch where you're going dummies!" I punched their shoulders to emphasize my displeasure at almost being a pancake.

"Sorry," they said in unison, gripping their shoulders and massaging them.

"Come on kids," Mom called, "dinner time!"

I perked up. Dinner time? I loved dinner time, well, technically I loved anytime I got fed, it was a werecat thing. I rushed to take my place at the dinner table, sitting down before Michael or Andrew even moved. My stomach growled as the scent of what Mom was setting on the table reached my nose. "You made manicotti?" I grinned hugely. Manicotti was one of my favorite meals. Mom set down a separate platter each of manicotti in front of me, Michael and Andrew and then a fourth on the end of the table where she, Melody and Clara would sit. I was salivating by the time Melody and Clara made it downstairs.

"What took you so long?" I griped as they took their seats.

They smiled identical evil smiles at me.

"Now that's just mean," I informed them. "You know I'm always starving after a run."

"You'll survive," Clara said with absolutely no pity in her pretty face.

I narrowed my eyes at her and was about to open my mouth to give her my opinion on their cruel plan to make me starve to death when Mom sat down. "That's enough girls, it's time to eat."

Then, in true white-woman fashion, Mom had us bow our heads to pray, thanking God for the food and all the blessings in our lives before allowing us to dig in. After I had eaten my fill, which was all of the manicotti Mom had made for me as well as my share of the leftovers of the plate she had made for herself, Melody and Clara, I asked to be excused before quickly making my way upstairs to my bedroom.

I had to weave my way between the last of the boxes I had yet to unpack, mostly books and clothes, to the dark blue-cushioned window seat that looked out to the trees surrounding our house. Settling myself on the plush cushions I pulled one of the boxes marked 'Books/DVDs' in my untidy scrawl. I used one abnormally long, sharp fingernail to cut through the red duck tape keeping the box closed. Inside were about twenty books and three times as many DVDs (every season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bones and NCIS up until the current seasons, every Harry Potter movie and almost every Disney movie ever made, including all the classics). Humming tunelessly I began to sort and organize the last of my possessions, placing my books and DVDs in the shelves built into the window seat; my clothes got hung up in the closet or folded and placed in drawers.

By the time I was done everyone else in the house had already gone to bed. _Not a creature was stirring, _I thought with a smile, _not even a mouse._

With the knowledge that my Pride was safe in their beds came a wave of exhaustion. I was barely able to pull on my baggy gray sweatpants and a red tank top before crawling into bed. I was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow, the last sound I heard was the howl of a wolf to its pack. _Good hunting, wolf-brother,_ I thought blearily before sleep claimed me and carried me off to oblivion.


	2. School

I drove my dark red 2006 Ford F-150 King Ranch Truck into the Forks Senior High School parking lot the Monday after we moved in. Clara and Melody were my only passengers, Michael and Andrew having managed to weasel their way into helping Mom unpack all of her work stuff at the hospital in town. It was completely unfair but you had to hand it to them for their deviousness.

Carefully I maneuvered my baby into an empty parking space beside a shiny, expensive-looking dark Volvo. I didn't pay attention to the six teenagers standing beside the Volvo other than to avoid hitting them as I parked and gathered up my backpack and get out of the truck, Clara and Melody following me. "Y'all ready?" I asked as I stood beside the truck's tailgate, adjusting the straps of my blue-and-black plaid Jansport backpack.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Melody said as she closed her car door. Clara just nodded, looking slightly green.

I smiled encouragingly at her. "It'll be alright," I told her, "I promise."

Clara smiled at me weakly, trust shining in her light brown eyes. I gave her a quick one-armed hug before turning to the cluster of buildings that was Forks High School. The school itself was large and sprawling, made mostly of brick and looking like most typical high school campuses. To our left there was what could be a gym. Behind the school I assumed there was a track and field. In front of the school by the sign were two flagpoles with the American Flag and the Washing State Flag flying at varying heights.

All around us students were milling around, walking into the building or outright staring at us. Fear gripped my stomach and I desperately tried to keep it from showing on my face. There was only maybe two months left in the school year. I was a senior in high school while Melody was a junior and Clara was a sophomore. We wouldn't really have time to make any friends before summer—well, at least I wouldn't, I wasn't as sure about Melody and Clara, but knowing their luck they probably would. Add all this to the fact that I hadn't been in an actual public school since I was thirteen or fourteen courtesy of the tribal custom that Spirit Warriors be homeschooled until they got their GED and I was understandably nervous. Still, this couldn't be any worse than fighting vampires; they were only human, right?

I consciously squared my shoulders, standing straighter as I took my first step towards what I had a sneaking suspicion would probably be my doom.

My foot had barely made contact with the parking lot asphalt when I heard an achingly beautiful, familiar voice say, "Well, well. Look what the _cat_ dragged in."

I froze. There was no way, absolutely no _way _that was who I thought it was. Slowly I turned around.

Behind Melody and Clara, who had also frozen at the sound of the familiar voice, lounging—yes, lounging, like some graceful, angelic creature—against the black Volvo was a painfully beautiful girl with flawless pale skin, flowing golden hair like silk, and shining bronze eyes staring directly at me.

"Rosalie!" I squealed, launching myself at one of my favorite vampires.

Rosalie Cullen welcomed my exuberant hug in her own special way: she dodged. I was thrown off balance by my heavy backpack but still managed to twist around and latch onto one of her ice-cold, hard-as-steel arms, using it to steady myself. "You're getting slow, Rosie," I teased.

Rosalie rolled her eyes at me. "And you're getting clumsy."

I grinned. Rosalie hadn't changed at all since I last saw her. "It's so good to see you again," I said, meeting her dark gold eyes with my copper ones.

Rosalie smiled up at me—an odd sensation even if I was only an inch taller considering last time I had seen her she had towered over me, then again I had been fourteen and newly Changed, floundering around like a newborn cub all legs and overgrown paws—her perfect lips stretched into a perfect smile that showed perfect teeth. Not for the first time I wondered if vampires only Turned beautiful people or if the perfection of a vampire came after the Transformation. "It's good to see you, too, Kitty," she said using her family's nickname for me. "How have you been?"

"I've been good, Rosie. Had some trouble with the Elder Council but no big deal. How have you bee—"

I didn't get to finish my question because I was suddenly pounced on by what felt like a large bear yelling, "Kitty!"

I staggered under the new dead weight. "Get off me you fat ass!" I grunted, trying to shove the lump of cold meat usually called Emmett Cullen off of me. Really, first my brothers now this. Why did everyone want to crush me?

"Rosalie," Emmett whined to his mate, "did you hear what Kitty called me? She's so mean!"

"You deserve it," I said, still trying to wiggle out of Emmett's iron grip. "Seriously, man, you need to lay off the donuts." I managed to get my elbow free and proceeded to jab it into his stomach. Thankfully, I wasn't human so the blow did actually have an effect on his granite skin.

"Oh, you wound me so!" Emmett cried dramatically, finally releasing me to clutch his heart in mock hurt.

"You'll get over," I informed him, patting him on the head.

"I may never recover from this mortal laceration!" He collapsed to the ground, trying to look as pitiful as possible.

"Now look what you've done," Rosalie said with a sigh. "I just got him to act normal after last time."

"Sorry Rosie," I said with a smile. Looking back down at Emmett I propped one hand on my hip. "Such big words Emmy-bear. Maybe you do have a brain in that thick skull after all," I teased.

Emmett didn't react and I shook my head. He would probably stay on the ground feigning death until the bell rang. He was such a drama queen; it was ridiculous in a being that was well over seventy-five years old, probably older. I turned away from Emmett and looked around. On the other side of Rosalie, between the Volvo and a Jeep I hadn't noticed before, Melody was reacquainting herself and Clara to the rest of the Cullen-Hale coven.

Rosalie and Emmett's family consisted of the "father" Carlisle Cullen, his wife the "mother", Esme Cullen and five "adopted" teenagers: Alice Cullen, Edward Cullen, Emmett Cullen, Rosalie Hale and Jasper Hale. I had met and spent quite a deal of time with them when I was fourteen and they were visiting my home-tribe. Carlisle especially had been a great help to me as I adjusted to being the first Pride Leader in a century.

Alice Cullen came dancing up to me, her feet barely seeming to touch the ground. Her pixie-like face was lit by a happy, childish smile. "I'm so glad you finally decided to show up!"

I laughed. "My most humble apologies," I said with a mock bow. "Though, really, it's your own fault. If you weren't a future-seeing little pixie you could be properly surprised instead of being so impatient. Jazz must get a lot of practice keeping you calm."

Alice stuck her tongue out at me, the action scrunching up her nose cutely, making me laugh even harder as I ruffled her short black hair. Alice batted my hand away. "Quit it or I'll bite you."

"No you won't, you love me too much."

"Don't test me," she grumbled.

"Now, now, Alice," Jasper, Alice's mate, came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her petite waist, "be nice to the kitty-cat."

I rolled my eyes. Kitty-cat? Really? I was the furthest thing from a lazy house cat. I tolerated being called Kitty; I even secretly like it, but 'kitty-cat'? I didn't think so. I narrowed my eyes at him but my glare at the irritating nickname quickly turned to surprise as I realized that I was looking directly into his eyes, not up at them, meaning we were the same height. I quickly turned away so as not to laugh, casting my eyes around for a distraction and saw Edward.

Now, Rosalie and Emmett were my favorite Cullens, closely followed by Alice and Jasper who were tied at a second with Esme and Carlisle, leaving Edward at a fair third. That didn't mean I hated Edward or anything, in fact I still liked him a great deal, but he didn't have the sense of humor or parental way of aunts and uncles the others did. Being the youngest-looking you'd think he'd be a little more youthful but he was a little too aloof, a little too reserved for me to connect with him openly, but we did have a good solid relationship. He was the one I went to for advice on how to deal with people I didn't particularly like or when I was having problems understanding a particularly difficult math problem.

Edward was standing off to the side a little ways away from the rest of the Cullens, talking to Melody and Clara. A girl, pretty with dark brown hair tinted red in the sun that contrasted nicely with her pale skin, stood at his side. He motioned to her, as if making an introduction, and her pale cheeks flushed pink.

I blinked. Vampires didn't blush, the girl had to be human, or at least something that had a heartbeat. I looked at Rosalie and jerked my head towards them in silent question.

"That's Bella Swan," Rosalie supplied, her angelic voice laced with barely disguised anger, "Edward's Singer."

"His Singer?"

"Yes, the human whose blood calls to him stronger than any other's. He's basically in love with her, it's disgusting." Rosalie didn't sound happy about this, in fact, she sounded like she downright hated Bella Swan.

"She's not that bad," Alice protested.

"Whatever," Rosalie grumbled crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the Volvo again.

I opened my mouth to ask another question but was stopped by the shrill sound of the school bell echoing out across the parking lot. My words died on my lips and a groan escaped my throat. "Damn it. And I was having so much fun _not_ learning anything."

Alice laughed, a tinkling sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. "Come on," she said, "I'll show you guys where the main office is and help you get your schedules."

I sighed. "Fine. Mel, CJ, let's go."

Melody and Clara came over and together we followed Alice into the school. The place was clean. Immaculate came to mind as I walked through the practically sterile hallways. The main office was the same, picture-perfect with the movie cliché blonde secretary who smiled at us and printed off our class schedules. She did ask that I stay behind to talk to the principal while Melody and Clara headed off to class with Alice. I frowned but didn't say anything, just took a seat in the waiting area and looked over my schedule.

Monday/Wednesday/Friday:

1st Period: Culinary Science

2nd Period: Gym

Lunch

3rd Period: Photography

4th Period: Art

Tuesday/Thursday:

1st Period: None

2nd Period: None

Lunch

3rd Period: None

4th Period: None

The longer I looked at my schedule the happier I got. The writhing knots that had formed in my stomach loosened. All of my classes were so easy! Complete blow-offs and no classes on Tuesday and Thursday. Fate had finally decided to quit playing with me and grant me some luck. I had to love having my GED. But, then why did the principle want to see me? The knots in my stomach tightened and began to writhe again. Had I done something wrong? No, I couldn't have. I'd been here for five minutes, there was no way I'd messed up that soon. It'd be a new record.

"Principal Johnson will see you now," the secretary said motioning to for me to go into the office alone.

I stood up, shouldering my backpack and pointed to the door behind her. "Through there?"

"Yes, go ahead. He doesn't bite."

The smile that formed on my lips was weak. My insides were shaking. I hated confrontations with authority figures, especially teachers. I was such a goody-two-shoes it was pathetic. I walked past the secretary, giving CJ and Mel a smile that felt more like a grimace, and entered the principal's office.

Dark wood shelves and cabinets lined one wall within reach of the seat behind the large office desk made of the same wood. Seated in the comfortable office chair behind the desk working on something on the computer was a wiry man with salt-and-pepper hair and brown eyes. I took a surreptitious sniff of the air. Nothing but human male. Good, he wasn't anything that could really mess up my life.

"Um, Principal Johnson?"

Principal Johnson looked up from his computer and smiled. "Ah, you must be Christiana Nightingale. How nice to meet you. Please, sit." He motioned to one of the chair situated across from him. I sat. "Now," he said, picking up a folder that had been on his desk, "it says here that you have your GED and yet you have expressed interest in finishing out would have been your senior year here at Forks Senior High School. Because you have already earned credit for all of the main courses required by our school you have chosen to take elective courses on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and intern at the hospital as Dr. Cullen's assistant. Am I correct?"

I nodded, though really I hadn't had a clue that all this was going on. Must have been Mom's doing. Remind me to hug her when I get home.

"Good," Principal Johnson smiled at me as he set my folder aside. "Let me be the first to welcome you to our school." He stood and shook my hand before ushering me out of the office.

I stepped out of the principal's private office feeling relieved. Behind me Principal Johnson motioned to Mel and she stood. I gave her a reassuring look which she returned with a smile as she passed me and disappeared into the office.

I turned back to the secretary. From where I stood I could see her computer screen and the brightly colored game Bejeweled she was playing. My mouth twitched at the corner as I tried not to smile. Instead, I went to stand in front of her desk. She looked up, startled. "Yes?"

I bit my lip. Time to sound like a fool, I guess. "Where do I go now?" I asked.

"Oh. Well," she frowned. _No need to strain yourself,_ I thought as I watched her. "I guess you can go on to class now. Here's a map," she handed me a pink piece of paper with a bad Xerox of the layout of the school printed on it, "and your classrooms are on your schedule. Have fun on your first day!" She smiled up at me and I had to resist the urge to role my eyes. Really? Wow. I turned from her and looked at CJ who was still sitting in one of the uncomfortable office chairs waiting for her turn to talk to the principal.

"I'll see you at lunch, alright?" I said.

She nodded. "See you."

I smiled at her and quickly left the office, studying the _really bad_, grainy map of the school, trying to find my first class.

* * *

By the time the last bell rang signaling the end of my first day in public high school I was exhausted and would be eternally grateful that I was only having to take four classes—all of them blow-off classes like Culinary Science and Office Aide—and only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, such was the beauty of block scheduling.

"That was hell," I said.

"You'll get used to it," Rosalie, who had the same last class as me—Art—said as she patted me on the back.

"I don't think so. How do you do it over and over and over again, year-in, year-out, a never ending cycle of despair—"

"That's enough with the melodrama Chris."

I sighed. "I'm serious though. The getting up early I don't mind. I don't even really mind the classes. It's the _students_," I said thinking back to lunch. Lunch in the school cafeteria had been horrible. We—Clara, Melody and I—ended up eating with the Cullens even though I'd overheard Melody getting an offer from some pale, blonde boy I could have easily snapped in half to sit with him and his friends—no offence to that guy but he had about a snowball's chance in hell with my sister.

The other kids had only glanced at me then quickly looked away, trying to be sneaky with their curiosity, as I piled my lunch tray with anything that looked even remotely edible. So that hadn't been all that bad. It was only as I sat down with the Cullens that they started outright staring. The feeling of a thousand eyes on me had made my skin itch. Maybe it was a werecat thing but I really hadn't liked being openly gawked at. I am a predator. Predators watch, they aren't watch_ed_. I had been so relieved when lunch finally ended but it only got worse after lunch.

A girl had come up to me in my photography class and asked me point blank what my deal was with the Cullens. When I told her we were cousins of sorts she had looked shocked then immediately run off to whisper to her friends who had been watching us. The same thing happened five more times, in that class and afterwards during the six minute passing period.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You'll get used to it. Bella had to go through the same thing last semester, this is a small school, you know."

My eyes narrowed involuntarily at the mention of Bella Swan, Edward's Singer. I didn't like the girl. She was sort of pathetic. I had her in my gym class and the way she acted just bugged the hell out of me. If it wasn't one thing with her then it was another and everyone treated her like she was made of glass. Maybe it had something to do with her being the Chief of Police's daughter, I didn't know, but whatever it was didn't sit right with me.

Together Rosalie and I walked across the parking lot to our cars. Emmett, Clara and Jasper were already waiting for us. "Hey y'all," I drawled.

Jasper smiled at me. It was a tight-lipped smile but that was normal for him when surrounded by a bunch of humans. Emmett's greeting, on the other hand, was much more exuberant. "Kitty!" he yelled and for the second time that day I felt like I was carrying a ton of extra dead weight.

"Hello to you too," I grunted from his suffocating hug.

He released me after one more lung-crushing squeeze and I was able to stand straight again. I twisted around, popping my back and grimacing. "Jeeze, Em, what did I say about laying off the donuts?"

Emmett glared at me but didn't say anything when he saw the warning glare sent his way by Rosalie. Instead, he scooped his mate up in a hug and kissed her. Of course, it wasn't just one kiss, oh no. I had to look away as they basically tried to suck each other's faces off.

I cast my eyes around, desperately trying to look anywhere but at the sickeningly lovey-dovey kissing going on mere feet from me. Across the parking lot I could see Bella and Edward. They weren't walking towards us. They were standing over on the other side of the parking lot near the heavily wooded side of the school. They seemed to be in heated discussion, but not with each other. There was someone else with them, a tall, tan someone in a dark shirt and jeans. As I watched Mr. Tall and Tan made a move towards Bella, like he was going to grab her or something. That set Edward off. Faster than I could see at this distance Edward did something that put him between Bella and the stranger and sent the stranger stumbling back a few steps. Oh boy, it didn't look good.

I threw my backpack into the bed of my truck and started running to where my cousin stood looking like he was about to bite Mr. Tall and Tan which would be really, really bad. Like, having to relocate bad.

I was still too far away to do anything when Mr. Tall and Tan took a step towards Edward but I did hear what he said. "_I _would never hurt her."

Ooh, low blow. During Culinary Science I had managed to weasel the whole Bella-Edward story out of Jasper, including the part where he left her and then she tried to kill herself and he thought she died and tried to piss the Volturi off enough to kill him only to be saved by her—with the help of Alice, Jasper was sure to add—which made him stop being so high and mighty and claiming he was a monster and bad for her so now they were good and "more in love than ever" according to Jasper.

Mr. Tall and Tan's angry—you know, I think Mr. Angry suits him much better, so Mr. Angry's retort might have been a low blow but I had to hand it to the guy, he had guts even if he was crazy for facing off against a vampire. Edward growled low and deep in his chest, the sound a human couldn't possibly make. I ran faster. If a fight broke out here in a public place a lot of innocent people could get hurt and I had no doubts that Mr. Angry would end up dead.

I shoved myself in front of Edward, placing my hands on his rock hard, ice cold chest. "That's enough, Edward," I hissed, pushing him back. He growled, struggling against me trying to get at the other boy. I pushed harder, managing to force him a couple steps back. There was a feral look in Edward's eyes. He wasn't himself right now. What the other boy had said had really sent him off. "Bella, come here!" I ordered, lacing my voice with the command of the Pride Leader, hoping Edward's Singer would obey even if she wasn't a werecat. She did, but slowly. "Make him look at you. Calm him down."

Bella didn't even hesitate to reach up and grabbed Edward's face, forcing him to look at her. I was a little impressed that she could see him like this and not run screaming for the hills. Maybe she was good for him after all. "Edward, come back to me, please," she whispered. His eyes locked with hers and there was a flicker of something, it passed too quickly for me to really see. He relaxed against my hands and I let my arms drop. He was no danger to anyone now. I let Bella take over as I whirled on the stupid boy who started this whole mess.

He was still standing there, watching Edward and Bella with an unreadable expression. His skin was the red-brown of a Native American, a shade darker than mine, and his hair was black, cut short in a sort of spiked fashion. His black shirt fit his buff—and I'm talking ridiculously ripped, as in John Cena or Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ripped— frame perfectly as did his dark blue jeans but the way he wore them gave me the impression he wasn't used to such restricting clothing.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I snapped. He finally looked at me, his deep, rich dark brown eyes meeting my copper ones.

I froze. My breath hitched in my throat.

The strings keeping me grounded to the earth snapped, shifted and reformed, tying me to this boy. He was absolutely perfect, every little detail about him was wonderful. I wanted to know him—needed to know him. What was his name? What kind of music did he listen to? What was his favorite color? This wonderfully perfect boy meant the world to me. I wanted nothing more than his happiness, his safety. I was willing to die protecting him.

"What. Is. Your. Problem?" Bella's shouts jerked me from the bond-forming daze. I spun away, hoping against hope what I thought had just happened had not just happened. I blinked and shook my head to clear it but that really didn't do anything because Bella's shrieks were giving me a headache. I winced and rubbed my ears. I mean, seriously, her voice could make dogs howl, then the reality of my situation hit me and I groaned. My life truly sucked. I'd been hoping to find my bondmate when I was a reasonable age, like, say, twenty-five. Yes, twenty-five would have been a lot better. _Please, Lord. Please don't do this to me now,_ I prayed. I longed to turn back around, to just watch him and revel in his, for lack of a better word, awesomeness, but I wouldn't, I couldn't. I refused to be a fawning fan girl.

I tried to block Bella's continued yelling out as I rubbed my temples to ward off the headache sure to come but her next words caught my attention. "Jacob Ephraim Black, I am talking to you!"

My head jerked around. Jacob Black? As in _Jacob Black_? As in _my childhood best friend_, Jacob Black? I studied my brand new bondmate closely. He didn't really look like my old friend, but then again, he sort of did. The Jacob Black I remembered had been lanky, bordering on skinny. This Jacob Black was most definitely not anywhere near skinny. My eyes took in his well-muscled physic again. Nope, definitely not skinny. But he was tall and the Jacob Black I remembered had been well on his way to being over six feet tall and this boy certainly was. Our eyes met again and I forgot to breath. He was just so wonderful, so perfect.

A cold hand gripped my shoulder and a voice whispered in my ear, "What's wrong, Chris?"

I jumped. Edward was looking at me with concerned golden eyes. Jacob was watching me, too, but Bella, who was still yelling, had yet to notice she no longer had all the attention.

I backed away, refusing to meet Jacob's eyes. I focused on Edward, switching my thoughts from Cherokee to English so he would understand, though I'm not sure it helped since my brain was spazzing out so bad _I_ could barely understand what was going through my head. I think he got the message though because he nodded and turned away. "Bella," he said, stopping the stupid girl mid-rant. He grabbed her arm and steered her away, leaving me with Jacob Black.

I looked around the parking lot, still refusing to meet his eyes. It was mostly empty now. The only cars I saw were mine and the Cullen's and the motorcycle propped up on its kickstand behind Jacob Black that I assumed was his.

A sense of dread overtook me as I stood there, the silence stretching awkwardly between us. If this really was my old best friend then this was positively the worst possible way for us to meet again. Cherokee law required that as soon as a bond was formed with a human the werecat in question had to tell the human of their situation. It had to be the same day, no postponing, no excuses.

But getting a bondmate was so rare and no one had ever bonded with someone outside of the tribe. The handful of bondmates in my home village hadn't had to tell their bondmate all the legends because they already knew them. They were stories Cherokee kids grew up hearing from their parents, it was like Cinderella. Imagine having to tell the story of Cinderella to someone who had no idea the story even existed, or The Princess and the Pea or Snow White. See what I mean?

All I imagined the others had had to say was, "Hey, you know the tribal legends about Spirit Warrior who turn into werecats and have bondmates? Yea, well, they're true and I'm a Spirit Warrior." Then they'd just transformed in front of their bondmate to prove it. Then I'm sure the bondmate had asked why they were telling them such a big tribal secret and the werecat had said "You're my bondmate. It means you're my soul mate, my life" yakidy yakidy yak.

Of course I couldn't have it that simple, bonding with someone who already knew the stories. Nope, I'd have to tell him the legends, if I could even remember it all. It was a lo-ongstory.

I took a deep breath. There was no reason for me to get so worked up. I could do this. I could do this, no problem. It wouldn't be easy but I was Christianna Tla-da-tsi Nightingale, Spirit Warrior of the Cherokee and Pride Leader. I could do anything. "You're name's Jacob Black, right?"

Something akin to anger or shock flashed across his perfectly sculpted face—no! Bad Chris, bad! His shoulders stiffened and he began to shake. "Yes," he said jerkily.

"My name's Christianna Nightingale, but my friends call me Chris." I held out my hand for him to shake. He stared at and after a moment I let it drop back down to my side. I guess he wasn't feeling friendly. I sighed. This was going to be just as hard as I feared. "Look, we need to talk," I started but he turned away from me.

"No," he growled, "we don't." And before I could make a sound he had mounted his motorcycle, kicked the kickstand up, revved the engine and was speeding out the parking lot at breakneck speed.

I stared after him, the dust from his passing swirling around me. The farther away he got, the more my heart constricted. By the time he was out of sight I was clutching at my chest, barely registering the action. What the hell was I supposed to do now? My bondmate had just run out on me and I had a sneaking suspicion that the pain in my chest would only get worse the longer I went without telling him about the bond and it really, really hurt. I could feel tears pricking my eyes. God, my life sucked.

The minute Jacob Black had left Rosalie came rushing up to me. She wrapped her arms around me, asking me if I was alright. I shook my head. "No, no I am not alright," I said. Anger was starting to melt the numbness that had seeped into me when Jacob Black left. How dare that insufferable jackass just up and leave, even after I said we needed to talk.

I leaned on Rosalie as she helped me walk across the parking lot to the rest of our family, glaring at the pavement. That jerk was so not getting away with walking out on me. I knew where he lived. I remembered how to get there from before we moved and I knew for a fact that there was no way the Blacks would have moved.

When we reached the others I handed the keys to my baby to Melody without a word. The shock on her face normally would have made me laugh but not today. The pain in my chest was really starting to make me weak. And I was angry. I never let myself drive when I was angry. Last time I had it had resulted in the crashing of Mom's car.

Everyone was silent, even Emmett. They knew something was up. Edward was watching me but his mindreading was of no use because my thoughts were back in Cherokee. Jasper tried to send out calming vibes by my glare shot up from the asphalt to land on him and he stopped. In the end, however, I was still too badly shaken by the bonding and the pain so Emmett had to drive us home. At this my vampiric bear of a cousin got a kid in the candy store grin and snatched my keys from Melody. "Oh this is so cool!" he squealed. It was understandable that he was so excited. The man loved trucks and I never, ever let him touch mine.

I glowered at him. "If you put even one scratch on baby," I warned but it wasn't much of a threat with me leaning on Rosalie and trying my hardest not to fall; my chest really, _really _hurt.

Emmett seemed to understand though cause his face suddenly got all serious and he nodded. "I won't," was all he said before he scooped me up in his arms and placed me gently in the backseat. Clara climbed in on the other side and lay my head down in her lap. My eyelids fluttered and the next thing I knew Emmett was picking me up again and taking me into my house, setting me down on the couch in the den. Clara, Melody and the rest of the Cullens followed us in and set themselves up in a semicircle around the couch, almost like a Council of War.

Once I was settles I started to feel a little better, or at least a little less shaky. My chest still hurt but other than that I was fine, no reason for them to keep treating me like a porcelain doll. As I looked at all the serious faces around me I noticed that Edward was missing and so was his Singer, Bella.

"Where's Eddy?" I asked.

"He took Bella home," Alice chirped from her seat on Jasper's lap on the deep red recliner.

"Right," I said.

"So you gonna tell us what's going on now?" Rosalie demanded. She didn't sound too happy with me but that was hardly unusual. I was always doing something or other to make her maternal protective side come out.

"Well, uh," I shifted uncomfortably. Four pairs of bronze eyes and two pair of brown eyes watched me like hawks. "Well, you see—uh…" I didn't know how to say it. It was just too awkward.

But Melody, who had been scrutinizing me with narrowed eyes, spoke up. "You Bonded, didn't you?" she asked.

My face grew hot and I nodded.

"Chris, you sly girl!" Melody laughed.

"Wait, you Bonded?" Rosalie asked dumbstruck.

"Seriously? Who?" asked Clara.

Emmett laughed while Alice and Jasper were mercifully silent.

I'm sure my face had long since surpassed just your average red blush and had now reached one of the million darker shades of red that had yet to be named, passing through even more shades to reach that color. I was so embarrassed. And if I thought this was bad I dreaded when Andy and Mike found out. They'd laugh me out of existence!

I sighed and swung my feet to floor so I was sitting normally. "You know that boy Eddy was about to rip apart at school? Yea, well, turns out that was Jacob Black and I bonded with him."

Melody's face lit up. "I knew it!" she crowed. "I knew you two were made for each other! Oh man! Wait till Momma hears about this!"

"You bonded with that mutt!" Rosalie shrieked and even Emmett didn't look so cheerful anymore. I frowned and studied the faces of my vampire family. They all looked serious and that didn't bode well.

"I know why I'm mad at Bonding but why are y'all upset?"

"It's just—well," Jasper rubbed the back of his neck looking decidedly uncomfortable.

"You need to go talk to him," Alice said in a far off voice. I looked at her. Her eyes were cloudy; she was having a vision. "You need to go to him now," she said.

I sighed—I seemed to do that a lot, especially today—and stood. Almost immediately I half fell half sat back down. My chest—I hesitate to say my heart—I had constricted the moment I stood.

Melody leaped to her feet and made to help me up but I waved her off. I took a deep breath, and stood again. This time I was able to remain standing and I started moving towards the door. Melody and Emmett shadowed me as I walked slowly outside. Those two were so protective it was both ridiculous and cute at the same time.

When I was halfway to the tree line I stopped. "Rosalie?"

"I'm right here," she said softly, appearing at my side.

"I need a pair of basketball shorts, please?" My voice sounded weak, even to me.

There was light whoosh of air then another whoosh and Rosalie was back holding a pair of white and black Nike men's basketball shorts. I slipped out my favorite gray converse and Miss Me jeans, goosebumps erupting on my exposed skin, and carefully put on the basketball shorts, tying the drawstring tight across my hips. Next, came my shirt. I unbuttoned the blue and white flannel shirt and let it fall to the ground. "I'll be back soon," I said, trying to sound strong and confident.


	3. Wolves

I wound my way through the trees. I knew where I was going. Mom had bought a house whose property backed up to the La Push Reservation boundary line. All I had to do was follow my memories to the Black's residence. The farther I got into the forest and the closer I got to the Black's home the less my chest hurt. Soon, instead of walking, I was trotting as the strength returned to my limbs. By the time I burst from the trees into the clearing where the Black's homestead was I was running.

I skidded to a halt just outside of the tree cover at the back of the Black's home, surprised by how abruptly the trees ended. Scrambling back to the cover of the trees I sighed in relief once I was sufficiently hidden again. I really hate being out in the open, it makes me feel so exposed.

I crouched down low to the ground and peered out at the Black's one-story home. It was just as I remembered it: painted red with a black roof and a garage/shed out back. My ears perked up as I strained to listen to see if there was any movement inside the house but I was too far away.

Slowly, carefully, I crept forward keeping as low to the ground as I possibly could. Forty feet away, thirty feet, twenty—

Something collided with my side. I went flying, hitting the grass and rolling for a good ten feet. The air was knocked from my lungs and I hissed and spat as I tried to get it back, struggling to my paws as I looked around wildly for what had hit me. It had to be big. In cougar shape I stood over five feet tall, no normal animal could have knocked me over let alone sent me flying, and humans were more likely to run or shoot than tackle.

What I saw when I finally focused on my attacker made my blood run cold. Standing ten feet away, between the house and me, was an impossibly huge gray wolf. Darker spots mottled its fur and its paws were stained an even darker shade of gray. It snarled at me, huge glaring eyes never leaving mine as it towered over me, head down, ears back, tail up.

Oh _shit._

The werewolf growled at me, snarling and ferocious. I moved slightly to the left, it snapped his jaws at me. I moved a little to the right and it took a menacing step forward. I froze.

What was I going to do? This was a _werewolf_ and I didn't know if it was one of the loose its mind kind or the only slightly less frightening shape-shifter breed. I swallowed hard and steeled my mind for what I was going to do next.

Slowly, carefully, I reached out to the wolf with my mind and began building a mental link. It took maybe two seconds for me to create the link but the effort I had to put into creating it made my breathing falter and become labored. Small tremors made my legs unsteady; I had to sit down.

_Hello?_ I called, my mind-voice sounding weak and faint.

The wolf's head jerked up and he stared at me.

_ Can you hear me?_

Slowly the wolf nodded, then, _Who are you? _What _are you? How can you talk to me? You're not one of my pack!_

_ My name is Chris Nightingale. I am a Spirit Warrior of the South Texas Cherokee Tribe. Who are you?"_

The wolf sat down with a heavy thump, a dumbstruck look on his furry face. _Chris?_

I nodded.

_Chris, it's me, Embry—Embry Call. Do you remember me?_

Now it was my turn to stare. Embry Call? No way! That—that would be too weird. To think that my old buddy was a werewolf, obviously of the shape-shifting variety. _Embry?_

The wolf nodded.

I blinked and then launched myself at him, pouncing on him playfully. I'm pretty sure we looked like Nala and Simba from _The Lion King_ as we wrestled each other. Finally I got the upper hand and pinned him to the ground. _It's so good to see you again,_ I told him from my position on his chest.

Embry laughed and managed to wriggle his way out from beneath me. I let him up and we sat facing each other, both of us panting, him with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth like a fool. _What are you doing here Chris? _Embry asked.

_We just moved back,_ I told him.

_But not into your old house_, Embry said suspiciously.

_No, not there. We couldn't. Daddy….he's dead and…._My voice faded out as I tried to keep myself from crying. It didn't matter that Dad and Clara's parents had dies almost five years ago, I still felt the sting of their absence and I'm sure the rest of my family did too.

_ Oh Chris, I'm so sorry._ Embry nuzzled me and I let him tuck my head under his chin, burying my nose in his chest. He smelled of pine and earth and wild places all wrapped up in a scent that was distinctly Embry.

We sat like that for several minutes. I had missed Embry. He might be my sister's boy but he was the one I could actually have serious conversations with.

Suddenly there was a howl and Embry's head jerked up, his ears perked as he listened. When the forest was silent again Embry looked down at me. _Come on,_ he said as he stood and shook the bits of grass from his fur.

I frowned. _Where are we going? _I asked as I followed him into the forest.

_You need to meet the rest of the pack and explain why you smell like leech._

_ What do you mean?_

_ The reason I attacked you was cause you smell like _them_. The howl was from Sam, the Alpha. He's calling a meeting because he smelled leech on the rez. They need to know it was just you. Why _do _you smell like leech anyway?_

I opened my mouth to snap at his tail for calling the Cullens leeches but Embry trotted out from beneath the trees into another clearing where sat a small yellow and white house. I could hear loud voices and the creaking of floorboards like a lot of people were moving around inside. I stopped just before the trees ended and peered out, feeling nervous for the millionth time today. I was really getting tired of being so nervous.

Embry, not seeming to notice I was no longer with him, stopped just at the edge of the clearing and…did something with his leg. What was he doing? It looked like he was taking something off, a small bundle or something. Once whatever-it-was was lying at his feet Embry rolled his shoulders, the fur on his body began to recede.

I closed my eyes at this, mainly because watching someone Shift from animal to human and vice versa can be nauseating, a lot more so than someone taking Polyjuice Potion.

I opened my eyes again when I heard the shuffle of feet. Embry as a human, clothed in jean cutoffs and nothing else, had moved to stand in the middle of the space between me and the little house. But he wasn't looking towards the little house. He was looking at me with an expectant, 'I'm waiting' look on his face.

I chose to ignore the look he was sending me and instead scrutinized him from my hiding place. Like Jake, Embry had gone through a steroid user-like growth spurt in the past four years. He had always been the stouter of the boys and he still retained that same stoutness but he was taller, over six feet and well-muscled. All-in-all, he had grown up to be quite the handsome young man, which was good because I don't think I would let Melody date an ugly goy. Yes, I'm a little vain, but aren't all cats?

"You coming out or what?" Embry demanded.

I shook my head.

"Get your butt out here!"

Nope, so not gonna happen.

"Hey Embry, who you talking to?" A voice called from the porch.

I glanced towards the house and saw a crowd of very tall, very muscled, very tan boys. What was that house, a clown house? There was just no way all those boys had fit inside that small house.

The one who had yelled stood closest to the steps leading down from the porch and looked vaguely familiar. Obviously they hadn't seen me—thank you forest—or else they wouldn't be asking such silly questions.

At the boy's call a gleam that I recognized and made me very uncomfortable entered Embry's eyes. "Hey, Quil, come 'ere."

Quil? Surely Trickster Coyote was playing with me.

The boy shrugged and joined Embry in the middle of the yard. Quil Ateara had changed just as much as our other friends in much the same way. I felt my lips twitching up into a smile at the sight of him. He had the same boyish face and laughing eyes, for all he was taller and musclier.

I sighed. Damn Embry. He knew that if he couldn't get me to do something on his own all he had to do was join forces with Quil or Jake and I would cave. Stupid, stupid Embry. I growled low and deep in my throat but stepped from the comforting shelter of the big trees.

Slowly I moved to stand in the open. Quil's jaw dropped. "Embry…?"

"Guys," Embry said enthusiastically, swinging around so he could address the rest of his packmates who were still standing on the porch looking completely dumbstruck, "I would like to introduce—or reintroduce for some of you—Chris Nightingale!"

I took that as my cue to Shift back. My bones popped and reformed. Fire swept through my veins and then I was standing upright on two bare feet, wearing my regular black bra and white and black basketball shorts.

There was complete and utter silence then everyone was shouting at once. I clamped my hands to my ears trying to block out the sudden noise.

"SILENCE!" A voice roared.

Immediately everyone was quiet.

I opened my eyes that I hadn't realized I'd closed. Standing in front of the pack of boys was a man. A very large man. Larger than the rest with a commanding presence that made all those nearest him pay attention. This had to be Sam, the Alpha. I sighed in relief. "Thank the Lord. I thought I was going to go deaf."

Sam glared down at me from his vantage point of six feet eight inches tall adding on to the height given him from standing on the porch. I remembered him from when I lived on La Push—it was a small reservation. He had been dating Leah Clearwater at the time, a girl a couple of years older than me who I had secretly admired for being so confidant. "Who are you?" he demanded.

I almost hissed at his tone. Who died and made him Ki—Oh, right. "My name is Christianna Nightingale, Pride Leader of the Cherokee Spirit Warriors." Might as well be polite, I was on this guy's turf after all.

"Why are you here?"

Geeze, what was stuck his butt? I clenched my jaw and tilted my head up proudly, answering in a much stiffer voice, "I was visiting friends. I have no intention of taking over your territory."

"Why do you smell like leech?"

Ok that did it! Screw being polite. He did not just call the Cullens leeches. "_Don't_ call them that," I growled. Sam looked startled. "The Cullens are a part of my family. I will not tolerate them being insulted." I had allowed Embry to get away with it but not this puffed up canine.

"Easy Chris," Quil said, placing a hand on my bare shoulder. "Sam didn't mean anything by it."

The heat of his hand on my skin made me blink and glance down. "Why are you burning up?" I asked, momentarily distracted and placing my own hand on his forehead.

"It's a wolf thing," Embry explained.

I nodded. I guess all the Spirit Warriors have their own thing. We werecats had the copper eyes, wolves got a permanent fever, go figure.

By now the rest of the wolves had come down from the porch, led by Sam the Alpha, and were crowding around me. Goosebumps rose on my arms as I was surrounded by the canines. I mean, usually cats and dogs don't mix. I guess if I want to get on with the La Push pack I'd have to learn to deal with it.

"What do you mean the Cullens are your family?" A boy asked. He was the shortest and youngest looking out of those who surrounded me.

I looked at him and blinked. What did I mean when I said the Cullens were my family? "It means I'd die to protect them," I said.

"Why?" asked another boy.

I sighed. My history with the Cullens was long and complicated and I didn't expect these guys to understand it. Instead of trying to give a proper answer I said simply, "That's just how it is," with a glance at Sam the Alpha.

Sam the Alpha didn't look too pleased but he also seemed to understand that I didn't want to talk about such highly personal matters in front of so many people. Lifting his head so his voice could carry he said, "The rest of you can go back to your patrols or home."

There was minimal grumbling but eventually most of the pack did leave, all except Embry and Quil who stood on either side of me like Guardian Angels eyeing Sam in a way that suggested they didn't quite trust him not to hurt me.

Sam gave them one appraising glance and sighed. "Alright, fine," he said. "You two can stay, if that's alright with you," he directed that last part at me and I nodded. I'd have to tell Embry and Quil the whole story anyway so why not get it over with now.

With them by my side I followed Sam up the porch steps and into the little yellow house.

Inside, the little yellow house could only be described as homey and comfortable. An old beat-up leather couch and chairs were arranged on an old rug in a half-circle around a small-ish TV. Pictures hung on the walls and a white painted kitchen table was set up with matching white chairs. Through one door I could smell something cooking so I assumed the kitchen was through there. The whole effect was airy and welcoming.

Sam sat down in one of the white chair which I was surprised to see could take his weight and motioned for me to have a seat as well. I pulled the chair out across from him and sat, Embry and Quil on either side of me. There was a very long pause. It was so quiet that I heard crickets chirping outside. I shifted a little in my chair but kept my face impassive.

I had not been expecting there to be any werewolves on the reservation or having to deal with the pack's Alpha but I had been forced to sit in on enough Elder Council meetings to know how to keep my emotions hidden and not show all my cards. I had a feeling this would be one of those times when quite a lot of diplomacy would be required. Better let him speak first and dictate this meeting's terms.

Just when I was starting to get really and truly uncomfortable Sam broke the silence. "Explain to me exactly who you are," he ordered.

Wow. This guy did not have a lot of tact.

Adopting the formal speech of my lessons in politics I said, "My name is Christianna Nightingale, Spirit Warrior and Pride Leader of the Southern Cherokee Tribe and now Forks. We have met before. My family and I used to live here until about four years ago at which time we moved back to Texas. I apologize for encroaching on your territory. I did not mean any offense, I just wanted to visit some old friends and wasn't aware that this area was claimed."

Sam regarded me thoughtfully, having listened to every word I said. Finally he said, "So you live in Forks? And are a Spirit Warrior, like us?"

I nodded.

"And you consider the Cullens your family?"

"Yes."

There was another long moment of silence. Sam seemed trying to mull things over in his head to come up with an answer about what to do with me. I didn't hurry him. I was in no rush, after all. I was sure Melody had told Mom the whole story, come to think of it, including seeing the Cullens and my new Bondmate. Mom's face at hearing I had a Bondmate was going to be priceless. I was a little sad I wouldn't be there to see it but maybe they would take a picture for me?

* * *

Sam Uley and I had finally concluded our business some two hours later. A verbal agreement had been reached and I felt that it would work out beautifully. Basically, we had agreed that my Pride and I would be allowed onto the reservation but would only hunt on our side of the boundary line unless asked for assistance or given special permission. In return, the La Push pack would not question our dealings with the Cullens and not attempt to chase us out of town. All in all, it really was a good arrangement, especially cause it meant my family—mostly me and Melody— could visit as many of our old friends as we wanted, whenever we wanted.

During those two hours I had also told Quil and Embry everything, and I mean _everything. _I spilled every last sordid detail of what happened to me in the past four year. They listened closely and several times wrapped me up in big group hugs that almost squeezed the life out of me. I also managed to sneak in some references to Melody that had Embry blushing but looking excited nonetheless. Of course, they also told me their story as it was only fair that I hear what happened to them after spilling my own guts.

As it happened, I had been right in my first instinctual dislike of Bella Swan. According to Embry and Quil, she played with Jacob's emotions like crazy, giving him just enough to keep him coming around believing that there was some hope. I kept my bonding with Jacob a secret though. I still wasn't quite sure what the Quileute customs were in that regard and I wanted to keep quiet till I had a chance to ask an Elder, preferably Uncle Billy.

About halfway through our powwow I met Emily Young, Sam's fiancée, who had come home from work. I tried not to stare as I shook her hand. Even with the scars on her face she was still beautiful. And nice. I could tell the minute she smiled at me that I was going to like her, and not just because the next minute she was offering me food which I gladly accepted.

Turnes out, Emily is a phenomenal cook. Fantastic, absolutely brilliant and should probably go to culinary school. The boys and I practically devoured the large plate piled high with cookies she sat down in front of. I guess she was used to baking for the La Push pack because she only smiled indulgently at us as we inhaled the sugary goodies.

When it was finally time for me to live I gave all of them—except Sam whose hand I shook—a big hug before leaving the house. I was halfway across the yard accompanied by Embry, Quil and Sam when I turned to them. "Hey, y'all still hang out with Jake?" I asked them hopefully.

"Of course," Quil said. "He's a wolf too. Not sure why he's wasn't here though."

I frowned. "But if he's a wolf and y'all aren't allowed on Cullen territory why was he at Forks High School today?"

"He was at the school?" Sam asked.

"Yea. He was talking to Bella about something, I don't know what and it got pretty heated."

Sam didn't say anything else but his face got very serious. I sighed. I knew that look. Dad used to look that way when you told him something that he wanted to think about and usually you wouldn't be able to get another word out of him about it. "Well," I said to Embry and Quil, "next time you see Jake tell him I say hi and that I want to talk to him, okay?"

Both boys nodded. I flashed them one more smile and was about to Shift when Sam said suddenly, "Chris, why don't you and your—uh—Pride come to the tribal campfire this Friday? It'll be a good way to introduce you and your family to the Pack and the Elder Council."

I stiffened at those last two words. Elder Council? Ok, calm down Chris. This Elder Council is totally different. I mean, Billy Black is on it, I remember them saying that, and absolutely nothing Uncle Billy is involved in could ever be bad. I took a deep breath and fixed a polite smile on my face. "Sure," I said maybe a little too cheerfully. "Where and what time should we show up?"

"It's at First Beach starting around six."

I nodded. "Alright-y then. I'll see y'all Friday!" And with that I bounded back into the forest.

As I ran home I considered my options. Do I go back to Jacob's house and wait for him to show his stupid ass up or do I hold off till Friday where there'll be witnesses to make sure he doesn't maul me? I chose the Friday option. My chest wasn't hurting half as bad as it had been and I figured that I would be able to handle the pain until Friday.

That decision made I pointed my nose toward home. It was almost dinner time and I had promised the boys to take them out hunting. Not to mention the Cullens would want to know what had happened. I had a sneaking suspicion I'd be ambushed by them the minute I crossed the boundary line and I was sure they had a lot of questions for me.


	4. Mom Talk

I reached the border between La Push and my property in a matter of minutes and was surprised to find a small light gray wolf standing on the La Push side of the boundary, snarling at Emmett who was on the other side. I cocked my head and looked at the wolf. It was a lot smaller than Embry, not nearly as small as a normal wolf, but still substantially smaller in comparison and decidedly female. I stepped forward, deliberately snapping a twig as I walked.

The she-wolf whirled around and snarled at me, then stopped. She lifted her head and studied me but the anger never left her eyes.

_ Hello,_ I said.

_You're the werecat._ It was more of a statement than a question.

I nodded. _Yes, I'm Chris Nightingale._ Apparently Sam had done something so that everyone in his pack knew who I was and our little agreement. _Who are you?_

The wolf huffed but said in a resigned voice, _Leah Clearwater._

_ Oh, I remember you. _

Leah narrowed her dark eyes at me. _We've met?_

I nodded. _Yes. My family used to live here on the reservation five years ago. I was best friends with Jacob, Embry, and Quil. You used to call me midget,_ I added hopefully.

Leah snorted. _I remember._ She swung her head around to Emmett._ That's a Cullen,_ she explained. _They're vampires—_

_ I know_, I interrupted. _He's waiting for me._

Leah's gaze snapped back to me; her eyes were blazing. _What do you mean he's waiting for you?_ she demanded.

_My Pride has an alliance with the Cullens_, I replied, opting for the abridged version of my relationship with the Cullens. If I explained the whole thing it'd just get complicated. Better leave that for this Friday and the bonfire. _Well, _I moved past Leah and stepped over the boundary line, _it was good seeing you Leah. I'll see you at the bonfire, right? _I gave her a cat smile.

Leah nodded. She still seemed a little confused but was more intent on making sure Emmett stayed on his side of the border than trying to figure out what I had said.

I flicked my tail at her in a wave and trotted away, Emmett keeping step with me on my right. Forest noise surrounded us and it was peaceful—until Emmett opened his big mouth. "What took you so long?"

I rolled my eyes. Did he really expect me to answer? I mean, hello! In cat shape here, aka, I can't speak and mind-linking only works with other werefolk. Instead of answering him I glanced up at Emmett, silently sending him a message. I might not have been able to speak mind-to-mind with him but we didn't need that to understand each other.

Emmett grinned down at me. "One…"he said, "Two…Three!"

I shot off like a rocket. I could hear Emmett pounding after me as I raced through the forest, leaping over fallen logs and darting between trees. Together we burst from the trees into the clearing where my house was. As we reached the middle of the yard I leaped into the air, twisting around so Emmett ran into me.

We fell to the ground in a tangled heap. I used the momentum of us running to keep us rolling so when we stopped tumbling across the yard I was on top, sitting on Emmett proudly, my tail flicking back and forth and a pleased expression on my face. Emmett, who had somehow managed to flip over in the middle of us rolling, grumbled into the dirt, his arms and legs splayed out. "Get off me Kitty," he whined into the ground.

I leaned forward and stuck my face next to his and cocked my head to the side, pretending I hadn't heard him. Emmett mock glared at me but was saved from having to say anything else by Rosalie, who had come out of the house. "Get off him_, _Chris, and change back," she said.

I sighed. Just like Rosie to ruin all my fun. I jumped off Emmett and skipped over to her—yes it is possible for a four-legged creature to skip. When I reached her I Shifted back, feeling the familiar fire and slightly painful rearranging of my bones until I stood on two feet again, facing her and smiling into her pretty face.

Rosalie studied me, a slight frown creasing her usually smooth skin. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly, her voice unusually soft and gentle.

I nodded. "I'll be fine," I said, letting the smile slip. It was hard to hide things from Rosie and most of the time I didn't want to. My vampire aunt-figure had lived for a long time and was better than any psychologist when it came to giving advice.

"What happened?"

I shifted my weight from one leg to the other. "I met the La Push Pack and made a deal with the Alpha, Sam Uley."

"Well, that explains why you smell so bad," Emmett said, coming up behind me to stand between Rosie and me so that the three of us made a small triangular shaped huddle eight feet from the backdoor.

I shot Emmett a glare but continued. "We agreed that the Pride is allowed on the reservation as long as we don't hunt on their land—you know, I think they were really surprised when I told them that we actually _hunt_. When I asked them about that they thought I meant vampires. I had to explain that we hunt to eat. I thought surely they did too since there isn't a lot of money readily available for lots of extra food. Guess not." I shrugged, "Anyways, Alpha Sam said we are allowed on the reservation so long as we don't hunt there and in return we help them whenever they ask us—within reason, of course—, obey their laws, and they don't question our dealings with y'all." I shrugged again. "That's pretty much it."

"Really?" Rosie sounded surprised, like she had been expecting more.

"Well, yeah. I mean, what else did you expect? There's not much else we can agree to. They did invite us to a bonfire this Friday though. Does that help?"

"No!"

Emmett looked angry, angrier than I had ever seen him. If he had still been human his face would have been red with steam coming out his ears. Instead, his eyes were wide and his fangs were bared. "Em, what's wrong?"

"I don't want you guys going over there! Those mutts could rip you apart!"

I blinked in surprise. "But I just went over there and you didn't mind."

Emmett shook his head and slung his arms around me, pulling me to his chest. "You can take care of yourself, you're Kitty. But what about Mel and CJ and your mother? Those wolves are wild. Sometimes they can't control when they Shift. What if one of you gets hurt?"

"He's right, Chris. Those mutts are dangerous," Rosie said, reaching over and stroking my head, gently pushing a lock of my waist-length hair back behind my ear. I leaned into her soft touch, placing my head on her shoulder

The moment was very tender and I sighed. All of the Cullens care for me and my family but Rosalie was the one who watched the twins, Mel, CJ and I when Mom had to work late. She and Emmett were the ones most involved in helping Mom raise us for the short time they had been in Texas. She and Emmett were also the ones most protective of us. Rosalie loved kids and I suspected that that was the reason she loved being around us and cared for my siblings, cousin and I—at least in the beginning, nowadays I'm pretty sure she loves us for us.

Emmett wrapped his arm around my shoulders and squeezed gently. "We're just worried about you guys is all," he said softly.

I twisted my head around without taking if off Rosalie's shoulder so I could look at him. "I know," I said, "but I need to make nice with the wolves, the whole family does and that means going over and visiting with the pack. We don't have to like it but we do need to do it."

Emmett would have sighed if he needed to breathe, instead he just looked at me in a resigned way. "Alright. But we're going to be nearby when you go over there, just on the other side of the border. If you need us or if they hurt any of you, let us know, ok?"

I nodded, not really sure why we were making contingency plans for Friday when it was only Monday but oh well. "I will," I said.

"Good," Rosalie said, gently removing her shoulder from underneath my head. I shifted to lean into Emmett instead who wrapped one large, protective arm around my shoulders. "We—all of us worry about you and Melody and Andy and Clara and Mikey. You're the brothers and sisters we don't live with. We only want to keep you safe."

"I know."

Apparently Emmett had had all of the seriousness he could take because suddenly he snatched Rosalie up in his other arm and squished her to us saying very loudly, "Group hug!"

I laughed and allowed him to crush me against his ice cold chest before I started wriggling. Of course he just tightened his hold, not enough to keep me from breathing but enough to make it really difficult for me to get away. "Em! Lemme go!" I laughed.

"Yeah, Em," another voice called from the back door, "let her go. We need her to go hunting."

"What, is that all I'm good for?"

Andy shrugged."Pretty much," he teased as he leaned against the doorframe.

I mock glared at my brother from over Emmett's shoulder. "Em, lemme go so I can teach that tomcat a lesson."

"Nah-uh. I actually like Andy."

"Fine! I won't trounce him. Even though he deserves it," I muttered the last part.

"You promise?"

I growled but Emmett squeezed me tighter. "I promise!"

"Good," and he dropped me back onto the ground.

Once I was back on solid footing—did I mention Emmett has a tendency to lift you up off your feet when he's giving you a hug?—I got out of his reach as quick as I could. I mean, I love Emmett's hugs and all, but a girl can only take so much, you know.

"So you three are going hunting?" Rosalie asked. She looked completely unruffled by Emmett's hug even though I knew I probably looked all rumpled and stuff. My theory is that her appearance is too scared of her to do anything but exactly what she wants it to do.

"Yeah," I said as I attempted to straighten my black and white basketball shorts. "We haven't hunted in these woods yet so now is as good a time as any to get adjusted."

"Alright then. We're going to head back home so we'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

"Kay," I said. "See you tomorrow."

"Buh-bye Kitty," Emmett teased and then, with a soft whoosh, they were gone.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair as I turned to Andy, who was still standing in the doorway dressed in nothing but blue Nike shorts. Behind him I could see Mikey wearing a similar outfit, only green shorts. Both were watching me intently. I smiled. "Y'all ready?"

They nodded.

"Then let's move out."

Together the three of us headed for the trees, Shifting when we reached the relative safety of the underbrush. _We can't go onto La Push to hunt, _I warned them as we trotted through the forest.

_Why not? _Mikey wanted to know.

_Because wolves are territorial._

_Wolves? _Andy hissed.

Oops. I'd forgotten they didn't know about the La Push Pack. Quickly I explained the presence of the wolves and their duty in the Quileute tribe as well as the treaty I had made with them.

_So let me get this straight,_ Mikey said when I finished. _La Push has a bunch of werewolves running around and you agreed to play nice? _

_Talk about your deal with the Devil, _Andy muttered.

_Aw, come on. It won't be that bad. We really only have to help them hunt down human-killing vampires and not hunt to eat on their land._

_Fine, _Andy said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything else, choosing instead to focus on the hunt.

It was dusk by the time we returned home. The hunt had taken longer than usual but was productive all the same. We had brought down a white-tailed buck, eaten and then dispersed the bones so human men might not find the kill and become scared because lions were so close to a human settlement.

Mom had a more human dinner ready for us when we entered the kitchen and after we had eaten Melody, Clara, Michael and Andrew vanished into their respective rooms to go do homework or something while I helped Mom with the dishes. As I cleared the table Mom set about doing a quick pre-wash of the plates in the sink. It was an easy chore and one that I enjoyed. There was something soothing about doing so commonplace a chore. It felt nice. There was absolutely nothing abnormal or magical or mystical or superhuman about doing the dishes.

The kitchen was quiet while I cleared off the table. Mom waited till we were both in the kitchen and I was putting away the leftovers—the only time we ever had leftovers was when Andy, Mikey and I went hunting because afterwards we ate like normal people—before she started talking. "So, how was your first day of public high school?"

"Well," I said as I scooped the green beans into a plastic Tupperware bowl, "it was interesting. I'm sure you noticed that the Cullens are here."

"I have."

" Yeah," I said dreamily. "I was so happy to see them. I've got every class with at least one of them. Jasper is in my Culinary Science class; Emmett's in my Gym class; Edward and I've got Photography together; and me an' Rosie have Art together."

"Is that all that happened today?" Mom prodded.

I shifted uncomfortably. "I guess Mel and CJ told you I Bonded."

"They did," Mom said calmly. "How did that go?"

I sighed. "Not well. Turns out the guy is Jacob Black—you remember him, right?"

I could hear the smile in Mom's voice. "I remember. You and him were connected at the hip, completely inseparable."

"Yeah, well, not anymore. Apparently for the last year or so he's been in love with this girl named Bella Swann—she's the Chief of Police's daughter—only thing is, she's Edward's Singer." I didn't really need to explain to Mom what a vampire's Singer was. She was better versed in all this mythological stuff than I was (thank you, Uncle Carlisle). "He came to school today and almost started a fight with Eddy. It was pretty bad. And then, when I tried to talk to him, he just took off. He looked really mad. It's just," I leaned against the kitchen counter and frowned at the ceiling, "it's hard to imagine my friend Jake being that mad. He used to be so easy-going, you know?"

Mom looked up from putting the dish that had held tonight's salad into the dishwasher. "I understand. But there is no getting around the fact that you did Bond with him. Where did you go after you got home?"

I picked up the salad dressing and went to put it away in the refrigerator. "I went over to his house, on La Push. And Mom, you'll never guess what I found out."

"What?"

"There are werewolves on La Push. They're just life us, shape-shifting Spirit Warriors, only they turn into huge wolves! And you'll never guess who they are!"

"Who?"

"Embry and Quil! And Leah Clearwater! There are others, of course, including the Alpha Sam Uley, but I didn't catch anyone else's names. I did get to talk to Embry and Quil though! It was so much fun." I grinned widely at the memory. "And I made a treaty with Alpha Sam. We're allowed on the reservation just as long as we don't hunt on their land and help them with any human-killing vampire problems they might have."

Mom had waited patiently for me to finish but when I was done she looked at me seriously. "And what of Jacob?"

I looked at my feet, my cheeks burning. There really was no use in trying to distract Mom from something she wanted to know. It was how she was able to raise five teenagers and not be overwhelmed. "I, uh, didn't get to talk to him."

Mom sighed. "Chris, you know the law," she chided gently. That was another thing she knew more about than me: Tribal Law and Customs (which I totally blame on Grandfather for saying she wasn't a proper Cherokee woman which made her want to prove him wrong).

"Yes," I said to the floor, "I know." Tribal Law dictated that a Spirit Warrior tell their bondmate of the circumstance within twenty-four hours of the bond's creation. Failure to do so resulted in a serious reprimand from the Tribal Counsel. "And I _was_ going to tell him, that's why I went to La Push, but then I found Embry and things got crazy! Besides, I was thinking I should talk to a Quileute Elder before I tell Jake, see how things are done in their tribe so I don't make any mistakes or step on anyone's toes."

Mom put the last dinner dish into the dishwasher and turned to me, studying me critically. Finally, she said, "That is an acceptable plan. You were smart to think of the Quileute's customs."

I smiled at her praise. "Thanks, Mom."

"Don't thank me yet. Tomorrow you are supposed to go intern with your Uncle Carlisle at the Forks Hospital. After lunch I want you to go over to La Push and _find_ an Elder, alright? And I want you to explain the situation to them and ask them what you are supposed to do."

My heart leapt to my throat and my palms started to sweat. "What?" I squeaked.

"You heard me," Mom said. "Try Billy Black. He's probably made it to Elder status by now, he knows all the stories." Seeing my terrified expression she reached out and hugged me. "It'll be ok," she soothed. "The Quileute Elder Council is not the one in Texas. They can't hurt you."

I hugged her back and prayed she was right. I really couldn't handle another Elder Council trying to take me away from my mom. If anyone so much as mentioned it I'd probably rip them limb from limb.


	5. Uncles

**Tomboy101:**** Hey guys. I'm really sorry this took me forever to get finished and posted. I had a minor case of writer's block but I'm all better now. Thank you for your reviews. You have no idea how much they warm my heart. Thank you!**

I woke up the next morning in a cold sweat. My hair was matted, I was shivering, and my chest hurt like hell. I blinked back tears as I struggled to sit up. The effort it took left me breathless. I whimpered in pain. What the hell was going on? Another shock and I was doubling over, clutching my chest. Was this what a heart attack felt like? I was too young to have a heart attack! I'm only seventeen for Christ's sake! Besides, if this was a heart attack I don't think I'd be thinking this clearly so then—oh right. The Bond. That thing that has me connected to Jacob Ephraim Fucking Black. Yes, he has two middle names. So I say, so shall it be, damn it.

I swung my legs over off the bed. That made my heart clench painfully but not as bad as last time which meant the pain was lessening which was nice. A quick glance at the digital, shine-on-the-ceiling alarm clock on my bedside table told me it was 6 o'clock. Melody and CJ were guaranteed to still be asleep but the boys and Mom were probably going to get up soon if they weren't already. I had to get to my internship/job by 8:30 so I had two and a half hours to get dressed and get my butt down to Forks Hospital. Not too shabby if I did say so myself.

I stood slowly, not making any sudden movements, and hobbled over to my walk-in closet. I grabbed my nicest pair of dark Miss Me jeans—yes, I do have a lot of Miss Me jeans—, a cute, sort-of tight dark-not-quite-maroon-but-more-the-color-of-blood red burn-out shirt with silver swirl designs printed on it and a plain black tank-top to go under it. Hey, can't have anyone seeing my lacy black bra, can I?

My black leather with silver rhinestones cowgirl belt went around my waist and my riding heeled, square toed work boots went on my feet. Yes, I'm very much from Texas. I chose not to mess with my hair and make-up, mainly because I was just too lazy, and headed downstairs, trying to be as quiet as I could as I snuck past Melody and Clara's rooms.

Mom was already sitting at the kitchen table sipping her morning cup of coffee as she read from _Forks Daily_. Huh, I didn't know Forks was big enough to have a newspaper. Go figure. She glanced up when I entered but didn't say anything. I went into the kitchen, grabbed my Special K Oats and Honey cereal from the pantry, the milk from the fridge, and a bowl and spoon from the cabinet and brought all of it to the kitchen table. I sat down in my seat, to the right of Mom, and proceeded to pour myself a bowl of cereal.

I was halfway through my second bowl when Andy and Michael made their appearance. Michael looked all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed but Andy still had that groggy, half-asleep look in his eyes. They took their seats across the table from me while Mom got up to make heat up their breakfast (frozen breakfast sandwich thing-ys). I smirked. Andy must have stayed up late playing on his computer or something. Werecats are generally morning people just like our animal counterparts who traditionally hunt early in the morning. "Good morning," I chirped obnoxiously.

Andy lifted his head from where he'd buried it in his arms on the table and glared at me. Michael smiled back at me. "Morning Sissy!"

"How are you boys doing this lovely, beautiful, glorious spring morning?"

Andy made a weird strangled grunting sound.

"Oh, Andy dear, are you not feeling well? What could you have possibly been doing last night that had you staying up late enough to make this big purple bags under your eyes?"

Michael sniggered as Andy increased the ferocity of his glaring and I smiled wickedly.

"Christianna, leave Andrew alone," Mom scolded even though I could see a tiny smile desperately trying to form at the corners of her mouth as she set Michael and Andrew's breakfast in front of them, "and go wake up Melody and Clara."

I smiled innocently. "As you wish, dear Mother." And with that I skipped out of the kitchen and all the way up the stairs to Clara's room which was the first one in the hall, my boots making clunking sounds on the wooden floor.

I poked my head inside CJ's still dark room. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the gloom but when they did I saw the Clara-shaped lump on the green-sheeted bed. I flicked on the light and said very loudly. "Wake-y, wake-y eggs and bake-y!"

Clara's light brown eyes fluttered open and she sighed. "Alright," she said as she sat up, still blinking against the bright artificial light now flooding her room. "I'm up."

I smiled. "Good. Now on to the hard one."

CJ laughed. "Good luck," she called after me as I walked to Melody's room.

Melody, like Clara, was still very much asleep when I opened her bedroom door. Her bed was piled so high with pillows that it was hard to see the lump she made under her purple and white covers. "Time to get up Mels!" I said in my most obnoxiously cheerful voice as I turned on the light.

Melody just buried herself deeper her into her covers and pulled a purple and white pillow over her head. I sighed. My sister hated mornings with the deep burning passion of a thousand suns so of course she wouldn't make this easy just once I sighed and walked to her bed. As is sensing my approach Melody gripped her covers harder. I rolled my eyes and walked back out of the room only to return a few minutes later holding a glass of water. I stood by her head and said, "I'm gonna count to five and when I get to five you'll already be up out of your bed or I'll pour water all over you. One…"

Melody didn't move.

"Two…"

She snuggled down deeper into her covers.

"Three…Four…"

She turned her back to me.

"Five." I turned the cup over and poured the water onto her head.

Melody woke up with a shriek looking like a banshee or something. She lunged for me blindly, claws extended (metaphorically, of course). I skipped away from her grasping hands and towards the door. "It's time to get up!" I cackled.

Melody glared at me through the frame her dripping wet hair made around her face. She looked positively livid. I swear, if looks could kill I'd have died on the spot. Thankfully, they can't, so the only pleasure Melody got was from imagining all of the twisted ways she could murder me. She likes to do that with people she is feeling particularly malicious towards.

When she got out of bed I half expected her to come charging after me but instead she just pointed to the door. "Out," she hissed with a very evil glare.

I twiddled my fingers at her and skipped out of her room, heading for my own so I could finish getting dressed. I brushed my hair out and put it into my standard issue high ponytail. I also put on the minimal amount of make-up (basic foundation, a little blush and mascara) to appear decent as well as something in all of my piercings (two sets of ear piercings, a cartilage piercing and a belly button piercing I'd gotten during my rebellious stage). Twenty minutes later I had applied my make-up, brushed my teeth, and combed and put my hair up into a ponytail. By then it was 7:30 and I had to get my lovely siblings to school by 8. Oh the joys of being the oldest in a group of five.

It was 7:45 when I managed to rid myself of the little monsters—just joking. I made a big show of pretending to be an overprotective mother dropping her precious babies off at school. I don't think they were amused.

After I dropped them off I still had 45 minutes left before I needed to show up at the Forks Clinic. And I was hungry again. It took me about 5 minutes of driving before I found the local diner. It was called Forks Diner. Very original, I know.

I parked out front and walked in. The little bell above the door clanged as the door shut behind me and every single person in the diner turned to stare at me. I shuffled my feet nervously. What was with all the staring? Have I not mentioned that I hate being stared at? Geeze people. It's like they had never seen a red skin before. Sheesh.

I quickly made my way to the counter and sat down. A friendly looking older woman came up to me and handed me a menu. "What can I get you, dear?"

"Um." I bit my lip as I flipped through the menu. "You got pancakes?" I asked looking back up her.

She smiled down at me. "Of course. What kind? We've got blueberry, chocolate chip and buttermilk."

I frowned as I thought. Blueberry or buttermilk? Chocolate chip was out of the question because in my opinion chocolate chips belonged in cookies, not pancakes but blueberries were always good in breakfast food. Then again, buttermilk pancakes were classic. What to choose, what to choose. "Uh. Can I get ten pancakes, five blueberry and five buttermilk? Oh, and can I get them in a to-go box?"

Again the waitress smiled her grandmother smile. "Sure, dear. Would you like anything to drink with your pancakes?"

"Water, please?"

"Coming right up," she said and walked away, back toward the kitchen I think.

Fifteen minutes later I had my pancakes in a Styrofoam box and was walking out of the Forks Diner gnawing on a buttermilk pancake. Man I was hungry and these pancakes were _good._ I got in my truck, started it up and drove to Forks Medical Clinic.

Forks Medical Clinic was a small building, only one story, but still unmistakably a hospital. The front doors were your classic double glass doors with all sorts of official warning stickers and stuff. When I pushed open the door I found Uncle Carlisle by the front door waiting for me. My mouth split into a large grin. "Uncle Carlisle!" I rushed forward to hug the pale, amber-eyed, blonde vampire.

Carlisle Cullen returned my hug with equal enthusiasm and an only slightly smaller smile. "Hello Chris," he said in his warm, gentle voice. "How have you been?"

I hugged him tighter in answer. Carlisle Cullen had been my God-send during a period in my life when I could have easily committed suicide. My dad had just died, I'd Shifted for the first time in my life and Grandfather and Mom were fighting a lot. I was getting close to being seriously messed up and then the Cullens had shown up. Carlisle, being several hundreds of years old had been fortunate enough to have met and befriended the previous Pride Leader. They had become such good friends, in fact, that my predecessor had asked him to keep an eye on the tribe after she died and to help the next Pride Leader, and he had done just that. His entire family had, actually. They had stayed in Texas for roughly a year before they had to move but they had become as close to me and my family during that single year that anyone could. That was how Carlisle and his wife Esme had earned the honorifics of "uncle" and "aunt".

Finally I released Uncle Carlisle and took a step back but the grin never left my face. There was something so wonderfully comforting about seeing Carlisle here in Forks, all of the Cullens really. It was like I knew that my brothers, sister and cousin were finally safe. The Elders couldn't touch us now.

I spent the rest of the afternoon being shown around the small clinic by Uncle Carlisle and having my job explained to me. Apparently my mom had made arrangements for me to be a sort of secretary for the front desk. I was supposed to take calls, write down when people wanted to come in for appointments, basically just help the doctors keep up with their schedules. I would be working with another woman, Catherine, who would be taking care of the pediatric doctors' stuff, this included my mom's. My schedule was basically working on Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 to 2.

And that was pretty much it. I spent the rest of the morning answering phone calls, most of which were actually for Catherine because all of the mommies and daddies wanted to make appointments for their little darlings now that there was pediatric doctor in town (aka my mom).

At 12, after clearing it with Uncle Carlisle, I left for the day and headed for home to drop off my backpack and to eat some lunch.

Lunch consisted of three fried egg sandwiches that I wolfed down like I hadn't eaten in two days. I was still a little hungry after that so I grabbed a couple of apples and ate them as I walked out to my truck.

Thirty minutes later I was driving my F150 up the Black's gravel driveway. I stopped my truck in front of the house and peered at it through the passenger side window. The Black's house was a one story, small, red, slightly dilapidated ranch-style house that very much fit into the rest of the reservation.

My heart was beating about a thousand miles a minute and my palms were sweating as I looked at the house. So many things could go wrong. Billy Black might not be home; Jacob could be home and answer the door. That last idea made panic start to rise in my chest. I had to shove it down quick or else I'd freeze up.

I took up a deep, shaky breath. I had to get over this irrational fear and I had to get over it _now_. I took another deep breath. Breathing felt good. A good flow of air, in and out, in and out. Just keep breathing, take out the keys, get out of the car. Take it nice and slow. I consciously had to force my legs to move as I walked up the porch steps. My scuffed brown cowboy boots clunked against the wood of the porch.

My hands were sweating profusely as I reached up and pressed the doorbell. My breath started coming in fast and shallow. What if Jake answered the door? It was a school day. Jake shouldn't be at home. But what if he was? If he answered the door I was so screwed.

I could hear the doorbell ringing and movement inside. A short, shadowy figure appeared behind the glass panes in the door. I bit my lip. A moment later an older man in a wheelchair opened the door. He had tan skin, high cheek bones, an oval face, kind dark brown eyes, and long black hair ending two inches below his shoulder. He blinked up at me, a friendly smile on his face.

I released the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "Hi, Mr. Black," I said extending my hand for him to shake. He took it in his callused fingers and shook it. "I'm not sure if you remember me. My name is Chris Nightingale. Jacob and I used to be friends."

Mr. Black, who had been looking up at me in confusion, smiled. "Now, Christiana," he said, using my full name because he knew it annoyed me, "How many times do I have to tell you, it's Billy or Uncle Billy, not Mr. Black. Mr. Black was my father."

I smiled, a feeling of relief warming my insides. How could I have ever been afraid that Uncle Billy would be anything other than loving and friendly? "Yes, Uncle Billy."

"Well, Jacob isn't here right now but you are welcome to come in," he said slyly, maneuvering his wheelchair so that I could walk past him.

I blushed bright red. I couldn't decide whether to be relieved or disappointed Jacob wasn't home, so I decided to settle for a mixture of the two. "Thanks Uncle Billy," I muttered as I walked past him into the house.

The front hallway leading to the living room was pretty much just as I remembered it: off-white, lots of family photos hanging from the walls, wooden floor. The living room that Billy led me to was pretty much the same, too. Nothing seemed to have changed much since I'd last been in the Black house. I sat down on the old brown couch and Uncle Billy wheeled himself over so that he was sitting next to me.

Billy smiled as he sat back in his wheelchair. "It's good to see you again Chris. When did you move back and where?"

"We moved back to Forks in the old Harrington place."

"Wow. That's a big house. Why didn't you move back to the reservation?"

I shuffled my feet in the threadbare carpet nervously. "My—ah. My dad…he umm…he's dead…"

Billy's face fell slightly and he gave me a concerned look. "I'm sorry Chris."

I shrugged and smiled weakly. "It's ok, Uncle Billy. It happened right after we moved away so it's been long enough it doesn't hurt as much anymore."

He nodded sympathetically but didn't say anything. I think he might have been embarrassed about his insensitivity. I smiled at him to try and be reassuring and changed subjects. "I actually came by because I need your help."

Billy straightened and looked interested. "How can I be of service?"

"You're an Elder, right, Uncle Billy?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Which means you must know about the werewolves." I was taking a risk in talking to Uncle Bully about the wolves. He might not know anything but by the way he stiffened I think I struck gold. "I went to talk to Sam Uley yesterday and we have an understanding but I have a problem that I think you're the only one who can help me with."

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about," Uncle Billy said carefully.

I smiled. Uncle Billy had to know what I was talking about, that too careful way he denied knowing was proof enough, and let's not forget his son was a werewolf too. "Of course you don't," I said sweetly. "But, just hypothetically, if you did what advice would you give me if I were to say that I was a werecat, much like the werewolves, a Spirit Warrior, only of the Cherokee tribe instead of the Quileute, and I had done something called Bonding with a member of the wolf pack, which is sort of like a love-at-first-sight thing?"

Billy straightened in his wheelchair, his dark brown almost black eyes surveying me. "I think," he said slowly, "that it would be best to tell this boy what happened. Possibly at the bonfire this Friday—I heard that you and your family were coming, yes?"

I nodded.

"Well then," he continued, "you will just have to find this boy you Bonded with at the bonfire and tell him what happened."

I smiled. "Thanks, Uncle Billy."


	6. Bonfire

**Tomboy:**** TA-DAAAAAA!**

"So tell me again why we're doing this," Andy said from his place in the backseat of my truck.

I rolled my eyes. He had been asking that same question ever since I had told him to get dressed for the tribal bonfire tonight. That had been about two hours ago. Needless to say, I was getting really tired of his whining. "Shut it, Andy," I growled.

"I just don't understand why we have to go," he pouted. "I mean it's not like we'll ever have to deal with the mutts."

Obviously he had been spending too much time hanging around Rosalie; he was starting to sound like her and while it was tolerable in my blonde cousin—mainly because she was, after all, a Vampire and had been alive long enough to get away with it—it was completely intolerable in my fourteen-year-old little brother. My eyebrow twitched. "Silence," I hissed, this time lacing my voice with a Pride Leader's command.

In the rearview mirror I saw him open his mouth but his vocal cords refused to work. He struggled for a moment to speak but no sound came out and he glared at me. Beside him Mikey bit his lip to stop from laughing at his twin's predicament.

When I had told them that we were visiting La Push tonight to go to a party, Mikey had been as agreeable as ever. He hadn't fought me on getting dressed in semi-nice clothes. He hadn't even argued when I postponed dinner so we could eat with the La Push Pack. Mikey had been a model child, like he was trying to make up for Andy's attitude. That was how the twins generally worked. When Andy was being a pain in the ass, Mikey was being an angel. When one was in trouble the other was having an unusually long streak of good behavior. Usually though, they were balanced, both being good and bad, though Mikey to a lesser degree in that last part than Andy.

I glanced to the road then back to the rearview. Mom was driving the family Sequoia behind us and I could see Melody sitting in the front passenger seat. Good, we hadn't lost them. I focused back on the road, steering my F150 deftly around a curve. We had been driving for about ten minutes which meant that in another ten or so we would reach La Push. That was good because the smells coming from the laundry basketful of food on the front passenger seat beside me was starting to make my mouth water. It didn't help that in the large paper bag on the floorboard there was at least 15 bags of various chips, including three bags of Cheetos—my favorite—in the puffed, regular and hot varieties.

Finally I saw the turn-off to La Push and took it, my tires hitting a pothole and making the truck bounce a little. The wooden sign by the side of the road had 'Welcome to La Push Quileute Indian Reservation' painted in white letters on a dark green background. My mouth twitched at the sight of the familiar-as-breathing welcome sign. _Maybe coming this way isn't so bad_, I thought, amending my earlier thought that going to La Push by way of the forest was better.

We drove through the middle of La Push, down the main street of town till the first and only blinking traffic light on the reservation. Another sign on the side of the road indicated that to get to First Beach I had to make a left at the light, which I did. Another few minutes of driving and we were there.

Sam had called earlier today and told me that people would start showing up at First Beach around 4 and he suggested that we come around 4:30. As I pulled up next to a couple other cars the glowing green digital clock under the AC controls flipped to 4:31. I looked out at the beach and noticed a small group of people milling around a pile of firewood already arranged into a teepee that would obviously be the bonfire later. Several large logs were arranged around it and it was those logs the group was using as seats. Off to one side I recognized Emily Young, Sam's fiancée, arranging what looked like a lot of foodstuff on an old pick-nick table, helped by a couple girls I didn't recognize. Every single person I could see was unmistakably Quileute.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid out of my truck, tucking my keys into the back pocket of my Miss Me jeans as I went. My shoes, a pair of old slip-on Rocket Dogs sneakers, crunched on the gravel as I walked around the front of my truck and opened the passenger side door to begin unloading the food Mom had insisted we bring when she heard we would be visiting another group of werefolk. I guess she thought that there was no way whatever food provisions the La Push pack had made would be able to feed all of us as well as themselves. I could understand that. Mikey, Andy and I ate like professional food eaters on steroids. That was the reason we hunted, so we didn't put too much strain on Mom to feed us. It was also cheaper than buying a lot of groceries.

Mikey and Andy came around the truck and stood beside me, holding their arms out in silent offers to carry the food. I studied them critically. "Promise not to eat until everyone else does?"

Andy sighed but because I'd ordered him to be silent Mikey answered for them. "Promise," he said with a grin.

I smiled back. "Good." Handing over the laundry basket of food and bag of chips I said, "Take this over to the pick-nick table and give it to Emily." The boys had begun to walk off when I called, "Oh, and Andy? You may speak."

Andy shot me a glare over his shoulder but chose not to say anything sarcastic, instead hurrying down the beach to the pick-nick table. Smart boy.

I watched them for a minute before going over to Melody, Clara and Mom who were standing by Sequoia looking nervous—well, Melody and Clara looked nervous. Mom just looked excited. Sue Clearwater, an old friend of hers who lived on the reservation and was consequently Leah's mother, had called her earlier in the week and the two of them had gabbed at each other for what felt like hours and both promised to be at the bonfire so they could talk some more.

Personally, I wasn't half excited as Mom was. In fact, my emotions were teetering somewhere between nervous as hell and scared stiff. Sure, I'd met with Sam the Alpha and gotten that all worked out, and of course I was happy to see Embry and Quil again and hang out with them like old times but that didn't mean shit because if Embry or Quil were here there was a 95% chance that Jacob was here as well. I'd been dreading and hoping to see him again in turns ever since Monday and that whole Bonding fiasco. Now it was practically assured that I would run into him. In fact, I knew he was here. As soon as I'd parked the aching in my chest had all but vanished. That was a clear sign that Jacob was near.

My stomach churned. Melody and Clara gave me shaky smiles which I tried to return but I'm sure it came out more as a grimace.

"You girls ready?" Mom chirped a little too happily.

"Ah-huh," I said. My mouth had gone dry. My fight or flight instincts were screaming at me to run.

"Good!" And Mom began walking down to the beach, making a beeline for a stout Quileute woman standing by the pick-nick table talking to Emily.

I forced my limbs to work and Melody and Clara fell in step behind me. Mom quickly distanced herself from us, leaving us to fend for ourselves.

We reached the very most outer ring of people. Mikey and Andy didn't look up at us from where they were talking to two werewolves. The little traitors. I narrowed my eyes at them but my attention was soon caught by two other werewolves detaching themselves from another clump of people and bounding over to us. "Chris!" they cried and swept me up into a bone-crushing, lung-collapsing group hug.

Immediately all the fear I had been nurturing for the better part of the week evaporated. "Guys!" I laughed, trying to wriggle out of their clutches.

Finally, after one last massive squeeze, they released me. "Y'all are lucky I don't bruise easy," I joked as I rubbed my ribs.

"Y'all?" Embry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Wow, Chris, didn't know you were such a cowgirl," Quil teased.

"Hey!"

"Uh, Chris?" a voice said from behind me.

I looked back to Melody. "Oh! Right, sorry." I rubbed the back of my neck and smiled apologetically at Melody and Clara. "Guys," I said, stepping so I stood between Melody and Clara, "this is my cousin Clara," I gestured to her and she smiled shyly up at them, "and y'all remember Melody." She waved to them in greeting.

Quil smiled and stuck out his hand. "I'm Quil Ateara," he said as he shook their hands. "It's nice to meet you. Are you werecats too?"

"No," Melody said. She gestured to her large brown eyes, "Wrong color."

"What do you mean?"

"Werecats have copper-colored eyes," I explained. "It's like you wolves and your fever. It's a tell. No copper eyes, no werecat."

"Ah. That makes sense."

I glanced at Embry. I was a little surprised that he hadn't said anything yet. Embry was just as friendly as Quil, possibly friendlier. But now he was standing there, feet rooted to the rocky beach, eyes wide and almost popping out of his skull, a dumbstruck expression on his handsome face.

"Uh, Embry?" I reached up and waved my hand in front of his eyes. Nothing. No reaction at all. His eyes remain locked on something beside me. I followed his gaze. He was looking at Melody. I guess he was shocked by how pretty she was or something, though, really, he should have remembered that she was well on her way to being a great beauty even at age 12.

Melody had noticed Embry's staring and blushed hotly, her soft-as-silk cheeks flushing a very flattering pink. My mouth twitched in a smile. Melody was looking up at him through her eyelashes as her feet fidgeted in the smooth beach rocks. She sent me a confused, almost pleading look but there was no way in hell I was going to interrupt just yet. So what if I was a little mean? Sue me. I'm her big sister and it's my privilege to tease, annoy and mess with her as well as advise, comfort and protect.

Finally Embry managed to get his throat to work. He swallowed hard and smiled nervously at Melody. "H-hi."

Melody grinned back. "Hi." Apparently that crush she had nurtured for my friend for the better part of our childhoods was still going strong. I wasn't sure how I felt about that these days. If Embry hadn't been a werewolf I would have been overjoyed. Those two were perfect for each other. But Embry _was_ a werewolf and Rosalie and Emmett's warning rang in my head. '_Those wolves are wild. Sometimes they can't control when they Shift.'_ If Melody got involved with Embry she could get hurt. I knew Embry would never hurt her on purpose but there was still the possibility of an accident.

"Hey, Embry, can I talk to you for a second?"

Embry's love struck gaze flicked to me. There was a flash of something in his eyes—anger, maybe?—but it quickly disappeared. "Yea, sure," he said reluctantly.

"Quil, I need you, too," I said, interrupting Quil's introduction of a younger Quileute boy to Clara by grabbing the sleeve of his t-shirt. Quil looked down at me in surprise but nodded without saying a word. "If y'all will excuse us," I said over my shoulder to my sister and cousin as I dragged Embry and Quil away.

I walked until I judged we were far enough away from most of the werefolk that I could whisper and not be overheard. Only then did I stop and turn to Embry and Quil. "We need to talk."

"And why does it sound like you're the one who's gonna be talking and we're the ones who are gonna be listening?" Quil asked sarcastically, crossing his arms over his well-muscled chest. "Have you ever noticed that when a girl says 'We need to talk' she's the one who usually does the talking and the guy can't get a word in at all?" he aimed at Embry but Embry didn't seem to hear. He was looking back longingly over his shoulder at where Melody and Clara stood talking with a couple other boys.

Quil frowned. "Yo, dude. What are you looking at?"

Embry jerked his head back around. He looked completely out of it, like he was shell-shocked or something.

"Yea, Embry, what _were _you looking at?"

"I—um—well, you see, I…" he looked at Quil helplessly, not seeming to quite be able to meet my eyes.

"Dude," Quil groaned, "you didn't."

Embry blushed and looked down. "I think I did," he muttered.

"Did what?"

Quil rubbed his cheeks with his hands in exasperation. "I am so not explaining it to her," he informed Embry.

"Explain to me what?"

"Aw! Come on, man, don't do that to me!"

"I'm not sure I even want to be near you when you tell her. I suggest you not be near her either. Yelling it to her from a great distance would probably be best for your health."

I growled. I was being ignored. Completely and utterly _ignored_. I don't _like_ being ignored. I stomped my foot on the ground, not caring if I was acting childish. I wanted answers and I wanted them _now_. "Tell me what?"

That got they're attention. They looked at me with almost imperceptible fear in their matching brown eyes. Quil glanced at Embry who shook his head fearfully and sighed. "I guess I'll tell her." Focusing back on me he continued, "In our pack we have this thing called Imprinting. It's when a wolf sees his soulmate for the first time and suddenly it's like she's you're gravity. Does that make sense?"

"That sounds like Bonding to me."

Embry looked surprised. "Bonding?"

I shrugged. "In my pride Bonding is pretty much exactly like what you said. It's mainly done so the Spirit Warriors can find the best possible mates to carry on the line."

"Yeah, that's pretty much what Imprinting is."

I frowned. "What does this have to do with…" My voice trailed off. It had just clicked. Why Embry looked completely shell-shocked when he laid eyes on Melody; and why he was so scared of telling me about Imprinting. "You _did not_ just _Imprint_ on my_ sister_," I growled low and dangerous.

"Y-yeah?" Embry challenged, looking halfway between scared and angry. "And what about you? We know you Imprinted on someone in the pack. So, who was it?"

My mouth dropped open. "What?" I squeaked. "H-how do you know that? No one but Uncle Billy knows that!"

Embry at least had the decency to look a little ashamed. Quil, on the other hand, just looked triumphant. "So it _is_ true!" he whooped. "Come on! Tell us who! Please? Pretty please with ice cream and rainbow sprinkles and gummy bears and a gumball on top?"

I was pretty sure my face was the color of my truck by that point, a brilliantly dark red. "Shut up," I grumbled.

Quil just grinned wickedly at me. "C'mon Christ. Tell us!"

"No!"

"Aw! Why not?" Embry gave his famous puppy dog look but this was one time it wasn't going to work.

"Because." I said stubbornly. I sounded like I was a pouting 8 year old but this was not something I was going to bend on.

Quil sighed. "Fine," he pouted.

I patted his bicep—damn was he ripped. "You'll get over it." I turned to go but looked back at Embry over my shoulder. "You hurt my sister," I warned, my voice calm and level, "and I'll rip you limb from limb, then I'll let the Pride have at you. There are 22 of us, you know." Embry's face went white. I smiled at him before continuing on my way.

As I made my way back to the crowd around the bonfire I did a quick assessment of who all was there. Melody and Clara were talking to a couple of werewolves, both of whom I recognized from Sam Uley's house on Monday; Mom, Sue Clearwater and Uncle Billy were on the opposite side of the fire chatting animatedly (probably reliving the stories from "The Good Ol' Days"); and Emily was still by picnic table talking to some girls I didn't know. The only area practically devoid of any life was the immediate area around a tall Quileute girl sitting on a log, dark brooding eyes staring into the fire. I decided that, although she didn't look like the friendliest person around, there was absolutely no reason I couldn't go sit with her.

I plopped down in the sand next to her and leaned my back up against her log. She glanced down at me, a frown marring her rather pretty face. "Hello," I said.

"Hi," she said, as if she couldn't believe I was actually talking to her.

"I'm Chris, the werecat leader." I stuck out my hand for a shake. "What's your name?"

Leah shook my hand warily. "Leah Clearwater. We met the other day on the border."

"Oh yeah! Nice to see you again. You look really different without all the fur."

"Um, thanks?"

I smiled up at her. "I heard someone say that you're the only girl werewolf. What's that like?"

Leah frowned. "Honestly? Kinda boring."

I nodded. "I can only imagine. I'm the only girl in my Pride too, only, if the guys annoy me I can order them to go wash their mouths out with soap or something and they have to do it." I smiled remembering the time I had Pride Leader ordered a guy named Jay to do just that after I overheard him saying some pretty mean things about a really nice but not quite attractive girl who lived next door to him. Needless to say the face he made was priceless.

"Sounds useful."

"You have no idea."

Leah laughed.

I looked around and saw that there was a newcomer. He was tall and built just like the rest of the werewolves but my heart seemed to spring to life when I saw him. "Jacob," I breathed, staring at him.

"What?" Leah asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Hey, I'll talk to later, I need to go take of something real quick." I got up and brushed the sand off my jeans and walked over to where Jacob Black was talking with some of his packbrothers. I nodded to the large boys before focusing my copper eyes on what seemed to be the source of all my problems.

"Jake, we need to talk."

Jacob immediately stiffened at the sound of my voice. "No," he said jerkily, turning to look me in the eyes for the first time since we Bonded, "we don't."

I fisted my hands on my hips. No way was he going to pull that shit with me again. "Yes, we do. And you don't get to run away from me this time." Jake glared at me and turned his back to me and started to walk away. I hissed. "You're a jackass, Black," I shouted after him, "and a pansy."

Jake stopped. Gotcha Jakey, you still can't stand anyone calling you a woos.

Slowly he turned around to face me. "What did you call me?" he growled so low that I barely caught it.

"You heard me." I fisted my hands on my hips, a smirk playing on my lips. "I know you better than anyone and you grew up into one big fat woos. What happened? Get your ass kicked too much in high school?"

Jacob snarled at me. "Shut up. You're going to get hurt."

"Why? The Jacob Black I knew never ran from a fight. In fact, I think he actually liked them. He never really had any problems wrestling with me, that's for sure."

Jacob was shaking by now and there was fire in his dark eyes. I don't think I'd ever seen him this mad. Maybe I should back off—too late. Before my very eyes Jacob exploded. Hair shot out from his skin, his bones realigned. I blinked and the human Jacob was gone, replaced by a large, red-brown, horse-sized wolf. Fine. He wanted to do this that way then that's what we'd do.

"Let me deal with this," I ordered the onlookers, some of whom were werewolves who had jumped forward at Jake's Shift, with a Pride Leader command as I tore off my green long-sleeved v-neck and kicked off my shoes. No reason to destroy my clothes, right? Unfortunately while I was distracted the Jacob-wolf had sized me up, decided I looked tasty and lunged for me. I looked up just in time to leap out of the way, but not completely. His claw clipped my shoulder and sent me a little farther than I would have gone with just my momentum. I spiraled in mid air and managed to land in a crouch.

I checked my shoulder. Just a small scratch, already healing, but damn did it sting. I hissed, glaring at him through narrowed cat-pupil eyes. Fire flew through my veins and a leapt at the Jacob-wolf, finishing my Shift in the air.

We collided with a thud, snarling and yowling. Deep inside I was screaming at myself to stop. This was my Bondmate. I was hurting my Bondmate. I was supposed to protect, love and cherish my Bondmate. This was wrong. So very, very wrong. Too bad I wasn't exactly in control. I was pissed, hurt and my instincts had taken over. Never a good combination.

In my enraged haze I didn't even notice when Jacob suddenly switched to the defensive. _You stupid, arrogant son of a—_I cried, scoring deep gouges in his side as I kept going after him. I kept attacking and he kept defending, backing up, leading me away from the bonfire and into the woods.

_Chris! Snap out of it! _Jacob's voice rang in my head, piercing through my rage. I stumbled back. Jacob saw the opportunity and took it. He pounced on me, sending us rolling. When we stopped he had me pinned to the ground.

We both froze, panting. A trickle of blood ran down Jacob's canine nose from a wound on his head and dripped down on my cheek. _Oh no_. If cats could cry tears would have come to my eyes. I had hurt Jacob, my Bondmate. I had drawn his blood. _What have I done?_

Slowly Jacob stepped off me. He back up until he was at least fifteen feet from me. He watched me warily as I slowly stood up on all fours. I turned to look at him, feeling sick with myself inside. _Jake…I-I'm so sorry. I—_

_Save it_, Jacob growled. _Just what exactly _are _you?_

_I'm a Spirit Warrior. Like you. Jake, please. Please forgive me. I swear, I didn't mean to—_

Jacob's eyes narrowed. _How are you allowed to be in public?_ he snarled. _In our pack we keep those who don't have any control away from other people so they don't hurt anyone._

That got me mad again. _Excuse me? _You _attacked _me_! How dare you accuse me of putting people in danger! I was just trying to talk to you about our imprinting-bonding—_

_You are _not_ my imprint!_

_What?! Hey! Get back here! _But it was too late. Jacob was gone.

I stood there, my heart breaking for the second time in my seventeen-year-old life. I don't think I had ever felt so much emotional pain except for when my dad died. Slowly, too dazed to really notice what I was doing, I Shifted back. Still in a daze I stumbled back to the bonfire, not even caring that I was in nothing but jeans and a bra. I had some explaining to do and then I was going home. Screw all the food that had already been made, I wasn't even hungry any more.


	7. GNO

"I hate Bonding. I hate it. I hate it, I _hate_ it! What did I ever do to deserve this? I'm a good person, Lord, I swear. I mean, there was that time with the substitute teacher and it wasn't like I meant to make the babysitter cry! But other than that I really am a good sister and a good daughter, honest!"

"Chris! Stop hitting your head!"

"Yeah! You don't have enough brain cells left to risk losin' the ones ya got."

Two pairs of hands grabbed me and pulled me away from the wall that was starting to get a dent from me banging my head against it. I rubbed my forehead as I let Clara and Melody drag me away from the wall. My life was truly sucking right now.

Rejected.

The word rang in my head, echoing in my brain like my head was a bell and I was inside it.

I had been rejected. By my bondmate, who, as it turns out had done something on me called Imprinting which is basically the same thing as Bonding, was somehow resisting the pull and had convinced himself he was meant to be with Bella, Edward's Singer. Man I hate that girl. So whiney. So annoying. So freaking perfect.

I _hate _perfect. There's nothing interesting about perfection. Even the Cullens weren't perfect; they each had their own little idiosyncrasies. But Bella Swan? She made me want to scream.

I wrenched myself out of Melody and Clara's grasps and threw myself onto my bed. Tears stung my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I was Chris Tla-Da-Tsi Nightingale. I did not cry over some stupid boy twice; once was enough. But no matter how many times I ordered myself not to cry the traitorous tears still began rolling down my cheeks again. I squeezed my eye shut and buried my head in my pillow, wrapping my arms around it and hugging it tight to my chest. I felt the bed sink on either side of me as Melody and Clara lay down beside me and wrapped their arms around me.

We lay like that for a very long time, me trying to hide my tears and them offering silent comfort and warmth. Finally my eyes dried and I sniffed, pulling my head out of the pillow. My nose was runny and my eyes were sore and I didn't feel any better but my mind had been made up. I was done crying. My Bondmate didn't want me, which was fine. The Bond calls for my complete and utter devotion to him and there are other ways to be devoted to someone other than romantically. If Jacob Black didn't want me as a mate then I'm more than happy to be his friend like I was in the old days.

Besides. I didn't want to be his mate either.

Melody and Clara watched me cautiously as I sat up. I think they were afraid that I would start banging me head against the wall again. I didn't though. Instead, I got up off my bed and made my way to the bathroom we shared down the hall. It was a medium sized bathroom, a bathtub/shower, a toilet, a sink, a mirror, tile floor, wallpapered walls, white door. I splashed my face with cold water from the sink. The water eased the soreness around my eyes. In the mirror above the sink my reflection stared back at me.

My copper eyes were bloodshot and swollen, framed by long, thick, dark lashes under plucked, arched eyebrows. Thick jet black hair hung down to my waist in waves around a round, blotchy face that was usually a smooth tan color with high cheekbones and semi-full lips that turn upwards ever so slightly at the corners, giving me a permanent small smile even when I'm sad. I guess I'm pretty. I'm not Melody with her supermodel beauty or Clara with her childlike adorableness but I'm not completely hideous either. I had a good body: a D cup chest, size 9 waist, flat stomach, long legs that lend themselves to my 5'10" height, clear skin, and an hourglass figure. I could definitely rock a bikini and I'm usually a medium in pretty much everything. There is nothing for me to be ashamed of physically and I love my personality (easy-going, fun-loving, friendly, and loyal to hell and back) so, in reality, it was all Jacob's loss. There was absolutely nothing wrong with me and if Jacob didn't want me then that was his mistake.

I straightened up and tossed my sheet of black hair over my shoulder, feeling insurmountably better. Now, don't think that I'm shallow or anything just because I think I own it. What girl doesn't give herself a pep talk to boost the self-esteem after being rejected? Yeah, that's what I thought.

"Hey, Chris?"

I wiped my eyes as I reached for the doorknob. "Yeah?" I asked as I opened the door.

Melody and Clara stood on the other side. They looked worried. "Do you think you'd be up to going out tonight?" Melody asked nervously.

"Alice said there's a couple under twenty-one clubs in Port Angeles," Clara added.

A wide smile bloomed on my face, only half forced. It was barely 8 o'clock. An hour to get dressed, an hour and a half to drive to Port Angeles, thirty minutes to find a suitable club and it'd be 11 when we hit the dance floor, plenty of time to dance the night away. What better way to get my self-esteem back than to go to a club and make a whole bunch of random guys drool? And I _know_ I can make them drool. My sister and cousin truly are girls after my own heart. "That's a great idea! But let's call Leah and see if she wants to come with us. I can't imagine her getting many GNOs with all those boys always hanging around."

Thirty minutes later and Leah was up in my room and all four of us were going through my closet to find clothes for Leah and I to wear. Mel and Clara were already dressed (tight blue mini dress and 4-inch black platform heels for Mel that made her look like she belonged on the cover of a magazine; black skinny jeans and a purple tube top with silver peep-toe pumps for Clara) but they hadn't done their hair or make up yet. Instead they were helping me convince Leah to wear something at least a little slutty. It wasn't like the girl couldn't take care of herself if a guy tried anything so none of us really understood her refusal.

"Come on, Leah." Clara begged as she held up a black and silver mini-dress. "You'd look great in this dress!"

Leah looked at CJ like my cousin was crazy. "That's not a dress that's a shirt!"

I tried not to laugh. Clara shrugged and tossed it over her shoulder onto the ever-growing pile of club couture. The next thing she pulled out was a blood red mini-dress that had slashed going down the back. I snagged it from her before she could offer it to Leah. "Mine!"

Leah snorted. "Good."

I slipped the dress on over matching lacy black bra and underwear, and bent to rummage around on the bottom of my closet looking for a pair of shoes. I came up with a pair of high top black converse. I slipped them on and started going through my jewelry box. Big silvery dangling earrings, a diamond cartilage stud, silver bangles for my left wrist and silver chain chocker—I was already wearing my belly button ring. While CJ and Mel were still busy trying to get Leah into something at least semi-slutty I went to the bathroom to hurry up and get my make up on and hair done before the mirror could be hogged by the others. I did my eyeliner in that newly fashionable winged/Egyptian look and my eyeshadow was smokey silver. I put on fake eyelashes that weren't too ridiculous, just right for going clubbing, a little blush and lip gloss. I grabbed my straightener (the one that looked like it had been painted with blue shatter nail polish) and considered my hair in the mirror. There were a myriad of ways I could wear it: down, up, ponytail, straightened, curled, the list went on and on. In the end I straightened it then did big loose curls on the ends and pulled it half up and half down with a whole bunch of hairspray to keep it that way.

By the time I was done I had been joined in the bathroom by Melody, Clara and Leah. They seemed to have finally all agreed on something too. Leah was wearing black tights and an aqua-green one shoulder top and black ankle boots with decorative zippers. They then proceeded to do their make-up—again Leah needed more prodding—and Clara did Leah's hair. By the time we were all done up to our's and each other's satisfaction the grandfather clock downstairs was striking the 9 o'clock hour.

We went downstairs and waved to Mom who was in the kitchen. I guess she got home sometime between Leah coming over and now. "Hey Mom. We're going to an Under 21 club!" I called to her as we passed. She only looked mildly concerned when she saw me but I was sure she knew that I needed this. It was how I worked. GNO's are a big part of my coping system and this wasn't the first time I'd gone out dancing with my sister and cousin since Clara got a fake ID that said she was seventeen—not that my mom knew about that part.

"Ok," she said. "Be careful. Melody, Clara, do you have your pepper spray with you?"

"Yes, Momma," Melody said.

"We also have our were-body guards," Clara added cheerfully.

"Promise to be back before sunrise," I said.

"You girls have fun," Mom called after us as Leah shut the door.

We were halfway to my truck when the wind shifted. Leah smelled it first. "Chris."

I looked back at her. She had gone stiff and had her nose pointed up to catch the breeze. I followed her lead and took in a deep breath. It smelled like the forest and something…tangy was the best word I could come up with to describe the scent. I frowned. "What is that?"

Leah shook her head. "I don't know."

Melody and Clara had already reached the truck. "Chris?" CJ called.

I glanced over at her. She looked worried. "Just a minute." I took another quick sniff. The smell was gone. "Huh. That's weird."

Leah nodded. "Yeah. But it didn't smell like leech. I don't know what it was."

"Me neither. Come on. It's gone now. We can worry about it later."

Leah shrugged. "I guess." Together we started walking again. When we reached the truck CJ and Melody were giving us weird looks.

"Is everything alright?" Melody asked.

Leah glanced at me. "Yeah, everything's fine," I said, sending Leah a very clear message to keep her mouth shut about the strange smell.

"It's all good," Leah mimicked my care free tone and we all got into the truck. As we drove out of our driveway I tried to put all of the insanity going on in my life out of my head. Tonight was my GNO and those stupid glowy eyes—yes I had seen the wolf the pack had sent to watch my house—were not going to ruin my night. And just because that strange smell wasn't wolf, judging by Leah's reaction to it, that didn't mean that I was going to have any less fun hanging out with my friends.

* * *

The South Side club in Port Angeles had a line out the door of eager teens just waiting for their turn to go in. I could hear the very loud base music even from outside and pulled out two pairs of earplugs, handing Leah one pair as I put in mine. Leah gave me a grateful look and quickly put in hers. The earplugs didn't really block out all sound but it sure did make it quieter. Now my hearing was about the same as Mel's and CJ's but that was better than my ear drums bursting, it was also a lot less painful.

Melody, looking like the runway model she could easily be, sauntered up to the bouncer, completely bypassing the line. She gave him a sexy smile. The guy looked completely dumbstruck. He didn't even ask for ID as he unclipped the velvet rope and let us pass. Melody tossed her hair over her shoulder and we followed her inside. I swear, getting guys to do whatever she wants them to do with only a smile is Melody's superpower and damn was it useful.

Inside, the club was loud and dark. A dance floor was at the center complete with multicolor strobe lights and it was full of teens gyrating and grinding to the music. Melody led us over to a round corner booth covered in dark velvet and we slid in, Melody, me, Clara and Leah. A blonde waitress dressed in a black mini-dress with the club's logo on her left boob came over and asked if we wanted anything. Melody ordered a Sprite, Leah and I asked for waters and Clara got a Diet Coke. After our drinks were served Melody took maybe all of five sips before jumping up. "Come on!" she yelled barely loud enough to be heard over the music. "Let's dance!"

Clara and Leah got up to join her but I declined. I didn't quite feel like dancing just yet. I wanted to sit and people watch from my shadowy corner for a little while first. Melody shrugged but headed to the dance floor after I assured them I would be alright by myself. I kept a close eye on them as they danced in their own circle. Now, I'm not lesbian or anything but they did look pretty damn good on the dance floor. They made a good, noticeable contrast with the rest of the crowd which pretty much consisted of really, really white people. Apparently these teens had never heard of sun, then again, not entirely surprising considering where they lived.

My friends had been on the dance floor for maybe all of ten minutes when I was finally spotted by some guy who decided to try his luck. He came over to me and smiled what he probably thought was a sexy smile at me. "Hey," he said.

I glanced at him. Brown hair that flopped slightly into his eyes, pale skin, brown eyes. Nothing really all that remarkable about him. He was muscled for a human, probably some sort of athlete, but by my standards—which are pretty skewed because of my were-associations—he was on the scrawny side. I looked away. "Hi."

He leaned on the edge of my booth. "So," he said, "you here by yourself?"

I didn't look at him, instead keeping my eye on the dance floor. "No." Short and sweet. Maybe he'd take the hint and walk away.

"Oh."He paused. "Where's your date?"

I frowned and looked at him. "I'm sorry but I'm not sure how that's any of your business."

He smirked. "So you don't have a date, huh?"

"I think," a voice growled from behind him, "that she said that wasn't any of your business." The guy whirled around. Standing behind him was over three hundred pounds of pissed off werewolf. His face went white...er.

"S-Sorry. Is she your date? I'll just be going." He fled.

"Dumbass," my 'rescuer' muttered, watching him go. He turned his smoldering brown eyes back to me.

I scooted out of the booth and stood. At that moment I wasn't very happy. That guy had been right to run, albeit for the wrong reason. If he had turned to look back at me I'm pretty sure he would have run even faster at my expression. "What _exactly_ do you think you're doing here, Black?" I spat.

Jacob answered my glare with one of his own. "I should be asking you that," he growled. "What were you thinking leaving the Rez after losing control today? And dragging Clara and Melody with you?"

"Excuse me?! How _dare_ you talk down to me! You're an asshole, Black. What makes you think you're better than me? You humiliate me! You degrade me! You act like I'm poison! Get over yourself. What the hell did I ever do to you, huh? Imprint or Bond with you or whatever? Please. You're pathetic! I can't believe you were once my best friend." I was so angry. So very angry. He made me want to scream! I tried to move around him. I had to get away from him. His very presence was toxic to me right now. I had come on this GNO to get away from him and here he was, ruining everything!

Jacob grabbed my bicep, almost squeezing hard enough to bruise, jerking me back. I would have stumbled if I was wearing heels. I hissed. "Let. Go. Of. Me."

"No. You're coming back to the reservation."

"I'm warning you, Black. Release me."

He didn't.

Fine. For the second time that night I found myself going on the attack. Before he could blink I grabbed his wrist and pressed my thumb nail into the tender space between the two veins on the inside of his wrist. I kept pressing until I drew blood and twisted his arm around until it was behind his back. He struggled but seemed unwilling to actually hurt me. I guess it was the imprint that stopped him. That was fine by me. I pushed him from me with enough force that he stumbled forward and almost fell to his knees.

Two big burly security guards had seen us grappling and stepped forward out of the woodwork. "Everything okay here?" the black one asked, coming to me. I nodded, trying for what felt like the millionth time in the past five hours to hold back tears. His partner, an equally big white man, went to Jacob. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Jacob glared at me but said nothing. I buried me claws in my hand to try and distract myself from the hurt his angry gaze caused me. I pressed hard enough to draw blood but it worked, barely. Jacob growled unintelligibly but turned and stalked away.

As he disappeared into the crowd the fight went out of me and I suddenly felt limp and tired. The security guards made sure I was okay one more time before fading back into the background, leaving me to my own devices. I took a deep shuddering breath and looked around for my group. Leah and Clara were still dancing but Melody seemed to be talking to a large dark skinned guy in another booth. The two looked pretty cozy. I guess Jacob wasn't the only wolf who decided he needed to come and make sure we were okay.

I decided to leave them alone. Embry would take care of Mel if anything happened and no one would be stupid enough to try anything for fear of going up against him. The wolves exuded power and danger that even humans were able to sense. I turned instead to making my way toward Leah and Clara. They were towards the other side of the dance floor so I skirted around the edge. I needed to get my adrenaline and endorphins up so that I could at least semi-enjoy myself.

I was halfway to them when a pasty white boy who was absolutely gorgeous stepped into my path. He smiled at me, showing off perfect white teeth. He leaned towards me and whispered in my ear. "Wanna dance?" I took a deep breath. Sugar sweet with a hint a bleach. Great. I just had to find a vampire, didn't I? The Spirits sure do hate me for some freaking reason.

I forced myself to smile. Might as well get a good kill in while I'm here. "Sure."

We started dancing, gyrating to the music. He positioned himself behind me and put his ice cold hands on my hips. It would have all been very sensual and a little bit erotic if he was, you know, alive. As it was, I felt a little bit like a necrophiliac. Just goes to show what the lack of a heartbeat will do for a guy's sex appeal.

I turned around to face him again and pressed myself against him. "Why don't we go find someplace a bit more private," I said lustily into his ear.

I could practically feel him harden. He grinned and grabbed my hand and started pulling me through the crowd towards a back door that led into an alley. Once we were in our nice, slightly dark and not in the least bit creepy—please note the sarcasm—alley he turned to me. By the light of the streetlamp I could see his ruby colored eyes clearly now. "You know," he said, his voice heavy with desire, "you smell amazing."

I grinned coyly at him as I leaned up against the opposite brick wall. "Thanks. It comes in handy when luring in vampires."

He froze. "What?"

I tossed back my waist length black hair. "You heard me. I hunt vampires and my scent is a lure. You should feel honored. Usually I don't have this long of a discussion with my prey."

The vampire growled deep and low in his throat. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't half as threatening as Jasper's growl. I rolled my eyes. My claws, which I had sheathed after Jacob left, had extended again. The time for talking was long over. I lunged forward and dodged under his swipe at my chest, coming up from behind and swinging at his throat. If he'd had blood pumping through his veins it would have spurted out from the slash that nearly decapitated him, instead he just made a chocking sound. I didn't give him time to recover. I lunged in again, this time making sure I fully removed his head from his body. My claws went through the rest of his skin and muscle not quite like butter, but easily enough so that before his head hit the ground it and his body had turned to dust.

I sighed. That hadn't been much of fight. Oh well. I glanced at my claws. I would need a manicure soon just so I didn't get vampire gunk under my nails. Maybe next time I'd get electric blue polish or something equally fun. I checked myself over for any potential stains—none that I could see—and went over to the big metal door. I tried the knob. Locked. I applied pressure and the lock mechanisms snapped, allowing me to just pull the door open.

I glanced around the ever so slightly less crowded club. Leah and Clara, looking sweaty but happy, had gone back to our booth but were wisely choosing not to drink from their drinks. Good. Who knows what some creeper could have slipped into them while the table was unsupervised. I went over to them. "Hey," I said, sliding in next to Clara.

"What's up?" Clara asked. Leah just smiled.

"Nothin' much. Just partyin'. You know, havin' fun. You?"

"Melody went home with Embry," Leah said.

"Really?" I checked my watch. It read 2:00. "Well, y'all ready to go too?"

Clara nodded tiredly. Leah shrugged. "Sure."

I stood. "Kay, then." I hadn't really gotten the chance to have all that much fun but really, the way this night had been going, why would I expect anything different. At least Leah and Clara looked like they had had fun.


	8. Grounded

**Tomboy101:** **and here's chapter 8! I'm so proud of myself for keeping with this story for so long! Of course, I couldn't have done it all by myself. Thank you to all my reviewers and to my wonderful beta, **possum**! Everyone waive to **possum **and check out her stories! Thanks again and God Bless!**

I stumbled into my room right around 3 o'clock in the morning. I was completely exhausted, mentally and physically, to the point where I felt a little sick. I glanced at myself in the mirror above my dresser. My skin was ashen tinged with green and my eyeliner and eyeshadow were smudged. The fake eyelashes I had put on earlier in the evening were in the cup holder in my truck. Tiredly I took off my big silver earrings and set them on the dresser. Then off came my red club dress and black converse. They landed in a heap on the floor inside my closet. I would deal with putting everything up tomorrow. Right now I had to get some sleep.

I collapsed onto my wonderful bed and sighed with relief. Today had not gone well. At all. Everything had all been one headache after another: fight with Jake, then go clubbing to get over fight with Jake, then Jake shows up at club, fight with Jake round 2 and, for the grand finale, end the night with a vampire kill.

The only thing that had been remotely okay with today was that it was Friday which meant that when I woke up in twelve hours it would be Saturday. Saturdays were my favorite day of the week, unless there was a Friday the 13th but that didn't happen often. On Saturdays I could sleep in. Mom never tried to get any of us up before noon on Saturdays and we had breakfast for dinner. I snuggled deeper under my covers at the very thought. There was just something about having breakfast for dinner that made any breakfast food ten times more appetizing. I wondered what Mom would make. Pancakes? Waffles? Biscuits and gravy?

_I hope it's biscuits and gravy,_ I thought sleepily, _with bacon and fruit and…_

Loud noises woke me up the next morning. My eyes sprang open and I sat up with a jolt. Familiar voices drifted up from the stairs from the foyer. I looked up at my shine-on-the-ceiling clock and growled. It was _8 in the morning_! Who the fuck was up at _8 in the freaking morning_ and more importantly, who the fuck was waking _me_ up at _8 in the freaking morning_?!

I shoved my covers off and flung myself out of my nice warm bed. Cold wood met my bare feet as I stormed out of my room, across the hall and down the big staircase. I stopped halfway down and glared at the intruders. Embry Call and Quil Ateara grinned goofily up at me as did my own _sister_! At the sight of the two werewolves the scalding pit of anger suddenly turned to rage that surged up and out of my mouth. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?!" I roared, not caring that I was dressed in nothing but a black bra and black hiphugger underwear.

If the boys had had dog tails they would have tucked them up between their legs. "Morning, Chris," Quil offered in his sweetest voice.

My glare snapped to him. "Shut up!"

Melody shifted nervously, her brown eyes looking at me guiltily. I fixed my ice chips for eyes on her. Forget that it wasn't her or even Embry or Quil I was even really angry with. They were there, all of them together, and seeing Melody standing so close to Embry made me think of Jacob and all the hurt he caused me in the mere seven days we had been here. All I saw were werewolves encroaching on my territory. "If you had wanted to hang out with _them_," I hissed, my voice a deadly quiet, "then you should have _gone_ to them. By bringing them here you have disrupted everyone else. Werewolves are not permitted on my territory unless given special, specific permission. Do I make myself clear?"

Melody dropped her gaze. Good, she knew who her leader was. I turned back to the wolves. Quil was looking between Melody and I in confusion. Embry was glaring at me. "Now wait just a minute! Who do you think you are talk to Melody like that?" he demanded.

I bared my teeth. If I had been thinking rationally I would have known he was right. Unfortunately, I had slept less than four hours so sleep deprivation combined with the ungodly hour of the morning resulted in an unreasonable werecat functioning mostly on instinct and not much else.

"Melody," a new voice said from off to my right, "why don't you take the boys out to the backyard for a while." Mom glided into the volatile atmosphere with all the serenity of a calm lake. Dressed as she was in her nightgown over comfy pajamas it was obvious that all our yelling had woke her up.

Melody nodded vigorously and proceeded to usher the boys through the doorway to my left. Embry continued to glare at me from over her head. I followed them with my eyes until they disappeared from sight. Good riddance. I turned to go back upstairs and bed.

"And where, exactly, do you think you're going young lady?"

I turned back around. Mom was frowning up at me, both hands on her hips. It was her classic you're-in-big-trouble stance. Too bad I was too tired and pissed off for that fact to click in my brain. "Bed," I said shortly.

"No you're not. You're going to stay right there until you explain to me precisely what you were thinking yelling at Melody, Embry and Quil like that for."

I stared at her. She couldn't be serious. By this time reason was starting to shove instinct out of the driver's seat so when I studied her carefully I recognized all the warning signs. _Aw shit._ Just by looking at her I could tell that I was so seriously grounded. Mom could tell I knew, too.

"Now you listen here, Christianna Tla-Da-Tsi Nightingale"—I flinched when she used my full name; she never uses my full name unless I'm in serious trouble—"I have given you a lot of freedom these past few months because you're seventeen and will be a legal adult soon and so must start learning how to think for yourself. What I have not given you is the right to yell at visitors or your siblings, decide who is and who isn't going to enter this house or to start fights for no apparent reason other than someone woke you up. This is a monarchy but you are not the queen. I am. Do you understand?"

I opened my mouth to argue back but there was a dangerous glint to Mom's usually warm brown eyes. My mouth snapped shut and I nodded at the floor. I hate being discipline by my mom.

"I said, do you understand?" Mom said again, louder this time.

"Yes ma'm."

Mom nodded. "Good. Now march yourself upstairs right now and get dressed. I expect you to be in the kitchen in eight minutes. Then, you will go apologize to Melody and those two boys. After that you are confined to your room until I say otherwise. The only times you are allowed to leave your room is to go to the bathroom, eat, school and work. No one is allowed into your room. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'm."

Mom's face softened slightly. "You know I love you Chris," she said kindly.

"I love you too Momma."

She smiled at me. "Go on."

I turned and dashed up the stairs. I was dressed in shorts and the first t-shirt I could grab from the drawer in five minutes flat. I raced to the kitchen, taking the steps two at a time. Mom is serious about her deadlines. If we don't get whatever she wants us to do in the time limit she gives us we get assigned the household chore we hate the most. For me, that's laundry. Having to do laundry on top of being grounded was not something I was particularly interested in.

Mom was waiting for me in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a cup of steaming coffee in front of her, when I came in. I had made it in her eight minute time limit with 120 seconds to spare, a new personal best. Without looking up from her newspaper she pointed to the backdoor. I followed the silent order and stepped outside in search of my sister and friends.

This early in the morning there was a coolness to the air that made goosebumps rise on my skin. Fog lay thick and close to the ground and the only indication that the sun was even up was that I could see well enough not to need a flashlight. I didn't see Mel or Embry or Quil out in the backyard but I did hear voices coming from around the other side of the house. I walked across the blue-gray painted wrap-around porch and peeked around the corner.

Melody and Embry sat snuggled against each other on the swinging loveseat. Obviously they were an item now. Quil had found a wooden porch chair and had pulled it around to face them. They were talking in hushed voices but seemed to be very comfortable with each other. Guilt twisted my stomach all around. I really shouldn't have yelled at them like I had. Embry and Quil had been nothing but good to me ever since we came back and Melody was my sister.

I shuffled towards them, the dread and guilt swirling in my stomach making me feel like I had been doused in cold water. Quil was the first to see me. He raised an eyebrow at me expectantly. Melody looked worried but Embry narrowed his eyes at me and pulled her closer to him. Normally I would have made some sort of comment about his possessiveness but I didn't feel like being sarcastic right then.

I kept my eyes on my feet as I spoke. "Mel, Embry, Quil, I'm sorry for yelling at you. I shouldn't have said the things I did. Please forgive me."

I glanced up at them. Melody was smiling that sweet smile of hers that told me all was forgiven. Embry's eyes un-narrowed but he didn't relax his hold on Melody and Quil smiled. "Wow. Who got the big bad cat to behave? They deserve a medal."

Melody laughed. "You should see what else Mom can do," she joked. "You'd want to name a country after her."

I smiled. "So, we good?" I asked.

Quil and Melody smiled back at me. Embry relaxed. "Yeah, we're good," he said. "Just don't yell anymore. You're voice hurts my ears."

"And you're smell hurts my nose but you don't see me complaining," I shot back.

"So what have you two got planned for today?" Quil asked, leaning back to lounge comfortably in his chair.

"Nothin'," Melody said. "Why? You got somethin' in mind?"

"Whatever it is count me out," I sighed. "Count me out for anything y'all've got planned for the rest of the week too. I'm grounded."

Melody shook her head but didn't offer any sympathy. Embry and Quil on the other hand stared at me. "You're _grounded_?" Embry asked, his tone somewhere between shock and awe.

"But you're a Shifter," Quil protested.

I shrugged. Being grounded wasn't that big of a deal and I was a little surprised they thought it was. "I'm confined to my room until Mom says otherwise." I turned and headed back inside. "I'll see y'all later."

I spent the rest of the day in complete and utter boredom. I ended up going back to bed and sleeping most of the morning away after I took a shower. Around noon Mom brought me three packets of chicken flavored ramen all mixed up together to make one gigantic bowl. It was pretty good but didn't fill me up completely.

After lunch I flopped back onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Normally I could have easily found one-hundred and one things for me to do to keep myself occupied but I didn't really feel like doing any of them. I could have watched a movie or re-watched _Buffy_, _Bones_, _Angel_, or _NCIS_ but none of those options really interested me. I had a bookshelf overstuffed with books but none of them called to me.

I looked down at my stomach. My belly button ring, a silver bar with a blue rhinestone on the end, was currently in. I studied the piercing. I had gotten it roughly two years ago, right in the middle of when all the werecat Pride Leader stuff had started. At the time I had gotten it I had wanted to do something wild and crazy and a little irresponsible. I guess getting my belly button pierced was my way of pushing back against all of the pressure I was suddenly dealing with. It hadn't really hurt but maybe that was just me. The guy who had done it hadn't even asked for ID to make sure I was of legal age to get it (the place had been some seedy tattoo parlor in Austin). Mom hadn't been real happy when she found out. She had ordered me to take it out but, in typical rebellious teen fashion, I had refused. To this day it was a point of contention between us.

Now, looking at the blue rhinestone glinting in the artificial light, I considered taking it out and letting the piercing close. I really had no use for it anymore but I didn't want Mom to think she had won. More oh my silly teen logic.

I relaxed back onto the bed and resumed staring at the ceiling. It was white. No cracks or stains or anything, just white. I brought my hands up and held them above my hand. The dark tan of my skin contrasted with the whiteness of the ceiling. I stared at them. My fingers were neither long and elegant nor short and stubby, they were just fingers. I wore no rings. I used to wear rings but after I Shifted I discovered that when I turned into a cougar my rings would just disappear. My piercings were always still there when I changed back, as were any necklaces or bracelets I was wearing, the rings, however, simply vanished. It really didn't make all that much sense to me. _I wonder what I'm going to do when I get married_, I mused. Though really, the likelihood of that ever happening was becoming smaller and smaller.

I plopped my hands back down onto the mattress. Dear Lord what the hell was I going to do for the rest of the day? AGGGHHHH!

I lay there for what felt like hours before I suddenly got this weird burst of energy. I jumped up and skipped to my desk over in the corner of my room and sat myself forcefully in my cushioned, rolling office chair. I spun it to face my desk and flipped open my blue Acer PC laptop, typed in the password when the screen came up, waited for all the applications to load and then logged onto Skype. Usually I don't get on Skype a lot and I rarely put my status on any messenger-type program as anything other than "invisible" but this time I switched it to available and within minutes I was video chatting with Sasha Johansson, a powerful witch I had known growing up in Texas whose family had been friends with my tribe for over one hundred years. That probably explained the strange burst of energy and sudden desire to Skype. Sasha likes compulsion spells.

Sasha was the big sister I never had and my best friend so I quickly filled her in on everything that had happened, starting with meeting up with the Cullens and ending with the whole Bonding/Jake fiasco. We chatted for nearly three hours until she had to go at around 5. Talking to her made me feel both better and a little worse. Better because I felt like I could handle the situation in which I had found myself; worse, because I felt guiltier about yelling at Melody who really didn't deserve it.

Finally, at 6, Mom came to get me for breakfast-for-dinner night. Turns out she did make biscuits and gravy, a lot of biscuits and gravy. I was so happy. She also made scrambled eggs, a fruit salad, had a pitcher of orange juice out, and some pancakes.

Conversation was practically nonexistent at the table. I think my siblings and cousin had all heard about me being punished and decided that poking the temporarily subdued werecat was not a good idea. Michael and Andrew ate quickly then excused themselves to hang out with some friends they had made amongst the wolves (and Andy complained about having to go to the bonfire, ha!). Melody and Clara also left to go hang out with the wolves when Quil showed up in his clunker of a van leaving Mom and I alone in the house.

I helped Mom clean up the kitchen and put away the dishes—there were no leftovers tonight. When everything was all cleaned up I went back upstairs and sat down in front of my lap top where I proceeded to watch movies until midnight. At midnight I went to sleep.

On Monday morning I was thrilled to get out of the house. Sunday had been a repeat of Saturday afternoon, completely boring. I was so happy to go somewhere and see something other than the inside of my room I almost cried and I definitely broke about thirteen different traffic laws just to get to school faster.

"Land!" Michael cried dramatically as he tumbled out of the back of the truck.

I rolled my eyes and shut off the engine. Melody, who had rode shotgun, smiled at me weakly but there seemed to be a slight green tinge to her skin. Clara had had the misfortune of sitting in between Michael and Andrew in the backseat (she lost rock-paper-scissors first to Mel for shotgun and then to both boys for a window seat) so she had to scoot across the backseat to get out. I waited patiently for her to shut her door before I locked my truck up. We all grabbed our backpacks out of the pickup bed where we had stored them because with five people, two of whom were 6 foot tall boys, there was just no other place to put them.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and turned, only to come face-to-face with a worried looking Edward. My bronze-eyed vampire of a cousin rarely looks anything other than calm. To see him worried sent alarm bells off in my head. "Eddy, what's wrong?"

Edward shifted nervously and glanced over to Melody and Clara who were talking happily with Alice. Andrew and Michael were a little farther off chatting up Emmett and Jasper but they leaned towards us showing they were definitely listening. Turning back to me he whispered, "Alice had a vision."

My eyebrows shot up. "What kind of vision?" I asked suspiciously.

"You know all those disappearances in Seattle?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Well, there have been a lot of disappearances in Seattle for a while. We think it's the work of a new coven—a coven of newborns."

"Newborns?" A shiver of fear went up my spine at the word. I had never had the pleasure of meeting a newborn but I'd heard all about them from Jasper. They were wicked fast, unbelievably strong, and completely wild with bloodlust.

Edward nodded. "They're taking over Seattle but Alice thinks they're being led by Victoria."

"Victoria?" I asked for clarification.

"Right, you weren't here for that. We met Victoria a few months ago. Her mate James wanted to hunt Bella. We killed him and now Alice thinks she's looking for revenge and is planning to use a newborn army to get it."

"An army?" I squeaked. I swallowed, a little embarrassed at having squeaked. "Is she a redhead?" I asked in an attempt to distract from my squeak.

"Yeah," he said slowly giving me a confused look.

I nodded. "That makes sense. Only a redhead would have such big anger management issues."

Edward looked torn between laughing and rolling his eyes.

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"I'm not letting anything happen to Bella," Edward growled. His eyes flickered, sanity and an almost insatiable desire to kill warring inside him.

"Ed!" I hissed, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him without trying to draw too much attention to ourselves.

It took a moment but his eyes eventually refocused. "Sorry," he said, looking away. He blinked a few times then looked back at me. "We're meeting after school to talk about what we should do," he continued. "In the meantime I'm going to try and convince Bella to go visit her mother this weekend."

I nodded. "Good plan." More seriously I added, "You know the boys and I are here to help."

He gave me a small smile. "Thanks Chris. It means a lot that you guys are here."

"Hey, what is family for, right?" I clapped him on the back. "Now come on, there are teachers waiting to torture us for another seven hours."


	9. Trouble

**Tomboy101:**** and here's chapter 10! Sorry it took me so long. Disclaimer: I don't own **_Twilight_ **(and now that I'm a Brony every time I see/hear that name I think of a purple unicorn pony)**

I headed to my Culinary Science class when the bell rang. As I walked through the crowded school hallways my thoughts were pulled back towards what Edward had said. Newborns. An army of them. I could barely wrap my head around the idea. It was the stuff nightmares were made of. Mortals had the boogeyman, Spirit Warriors had Newborn Vampires. I shuddered.

I had just sat down at my lab table when Jasper walked in and joined me. "Hey Jazz," I said with a smile.

"Hey Chris." He gave me a tightlipped smile.

"So how was your weekend?"

I think he almost winced. "I guess you heard?"

I nodded. "Yep. First thing Eddy said to me when we got to school this morning."

Jasper was silent. I watched him, trying to gauge his reaction. Nothing. More than ever he looked like a marble statue; he wasn't even breathing. I think it had something to do with all the humans. I sighed. "You know you're gonna have to tell the wolves, right?"

Still nothing.

I sighed. The bell rang and the teacher walked in. She was a short, blonde woman who wore a ridiculous flowered apron. She'd introduced herself to me when I first started the class but by now I'd forgotten her name. I zoned out as she started explaining today's assignment. Usually I paid more attention than anyone else in the class—we made food _and_ got to eat it—but after everything that was happening I hadn't felt my usual always-hungry self since Friday. I'd even left food on my plate Saturday night. My mom worried but since there really was nothing she could do to help she left it alone.

I spent most of my morning classes zoning in and out. If not for having one Cullen with me in each class the teachers probably would have noticed my absentmindedness. As it was, Jasper kept me from burning the cookies I was supposed to be baking in Culinary Science and Emmett saved me from being brained by a basketball in Gym. When we finally got to lunch I collapsed in my seat at the Cullen's unofficially reserved table.

My brain couldn't seem to shut up. Thoughts keep spinning in my head which, by the way, was extremely annoying.

The reason I was so out of it was because I was busy thinking—ok, more like obsessing. Because the Cullens are a part of our family Andy, Michael and I would of course help them. That wasn't really the problem. The problem was that to help the Cullens meant that we would need to set up some sort of protection for Bella. That I wasn't looking forward to. Not to mention the wolves would probably become involved if there was a vampire sniffing around so close to La Push. I hadn't talked to any of the wolves other than Quil, Embry and Leah since the bonfire and those three were keeping tactfully quite about my fight with Jacob. I couldn't count any of the others to do the same.

"Ok what's going on?" Michael asked as he plopped down beside me and pulled out the lunch Mom had made for him and set it down on the tray with his cafeteria food. Andy sat next to him with much the same lunchtime set up.

Jasper looked sharply across from the table at Michael. "We will discuss it later," he said seriously.

Andy and Mike looked at each other then at me. They knew it was really was serious now; Jasper rarely spoke at school so as to prevent accidently breathing in the tempting smell of human blood. An awkward silence settled between us, until Alice game skipping over her perfect white smile beaming at us. It was a little scary to see her smiling at us like that, like she was a little bit of maniac. "Hey, pretty kitties!" she sang.

Andrew shot her a glare. "I'm a lion, not a cat," he snapped, momentarily distracted.

I smirked. "Actually, you're more like a cub."

"So are you!"

"Not for long," I sang. "Just three more weeks and then I'll officially be the Pride Leader."

The glower he sent my way would have frozen me from the inside out, if that had been physically possible. Thankfully it wasn't so I didn't die of hypothermia. Instead I just smiled at him and popped a Cheetos from the bag Mom had given me as part of my lunch into my mouth.

By the time Edward and Bella came back from getting Bella food the subject had been dropped. I stayed quiet throughout lunch and it wasn't until Art class—which such a total blow-off I could have turned in stick figure drawings and gotten an A—with Rosalie that I said anything.

I was sitting at my table, Rosie beside me, and staring blankly at my desk. It was white and, much like the tables in Culinary Science, sat two people. Rosie was working on a water color painting. I think it was of a beach landscape complete with a lighthouse. We were an hour and a half into class when Rosie sat down her paintbrush with a huff. She turned angry amber eyes on me. A lot of people seemed to be doing that today. There were so many glares being pointed at me I could almost get the impression that no one liked me very much.

I looked up. "Yes?"

"What's wrong with you?" she demanded irritably.

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. "Nothing," I said.

Rosalie snorted. "Yeah, right," she said. "Even Emmett noticed something's wrong. Spill."

I sighed. Rosie might not be able to read minds but she would drag out the reason for silence eventually. Easier to just tell her now and not fight it. "It's Jacob Black," I said after a minute.

"That mutt? What's he done now?"

"So you know he's a wolf?" Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Of course you do." I sighed. "He rejected me. At the bonfire last Friday I tried to tell him about the Bond but he refused to accept it. We got into a fight, like a real, blood-drawing fight. Then he followed me when I went into Port Angeles for a girl's night with Mel, CJ and Leah Clearwater. He yelled at me for putting people in danger. He's just so damn frustrating, you know! He's more bi-polar than a pregnant woman and a PMSing girl combined!"

Rosalie listened to my rant calmly and when I finished she wrapped me up in a big hug. "You're lucky," she said, "you don't have to deal with that stupid mutt."

"That's the thing. He's my Bondmate; I have to deal with him for the rest of my life in one way or another. Do you know how much this sucks? He hates me and I'm stuck with him." I fidgeted in my seat. My heart thumped in my chest; I could hear it in my ears.

Rosalie laughed. I hissed at her. Stupid Vampire. Stupid, sadistic, blonde Vampire. I wanted to rip her head off. Fortunately for her the bell rang signaling the end of class and our release. I gathered up my stuff, cramming everything into my backpack. I couldn't wait to get out this place. My chest was hurting again and my hands itched. I wanted to run. I wanted to get out of this cramped, human-filled place, go deep into the forest where no one could find me.

I rushed out of the art classroom, through the hallways and out of the double glass front doors of the schools. Michael, Andrew, Melody and Clara were nowhere to be found in the parking lot. I made a beeline for my truck, not even bothering to avoid the puddles of water on the asphalt. When I reached the truck I yanked the driver's door open and flung myself in, slamming the door behind me.

Inside the cab the air was hot and sticky. It had rained during the day and the humidity had jacked way up. I fumbled with my keys but finally managed to get them into the ignition. I started the truck and sat there, breathing deep. My chest was hurting more, constricting painfully. There was a brief moment when I thought I couldn't breathe. Adrenaline pumped through me and I itched to run, to Shift, to head for the trees and never turn back.

Someone knocked on the driver's side window. I looked around. Emmett peered in, concern etched onto his marble face. I took a deep breath then rolled down the window.

"You alright?" he asked.

Again with that stupid question. "I'm fine."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right, and I'm a hummingbird."

"That would explain your hyperactivity."

"Come on, Chris. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just the whole Bonding situation. It's getting to me. Plus, Grandfather called Mom last night. It didn't go well." That last part wasn't a lie. My grandfather had called my mom on her cell phone last night. The conversation had lasted all of five minutes, most of which Mom spent yelling at him to stay the fuck away from us, but it had set the entire house on edge. Mom had made a point to change all of our phone numbers before we moved. He shouldn't have been able to call her.

Emmett's concerned frown deepened. "Damn. That sucks, Chris."

"Yeah my life is just a big whirlpool of suck right now. Nothing new."

Emmett reached inside the cab and wrapped me up in an awkward hug. I hugged him back. For all he was cold as ice Emmett gave some pretty amazing hugs. I clung to him for several moments longer until we heard a voice call our names. Emmett extracted himself from hanging half-in half-out my window and turned. Clara, Melody and Jasper were halfway across the parking lot and I knew Andrew and Michael wouldn't be too far behind.

"Hey," Emmett called cheerfully back. That's the wonderful thing about Em. He can keep secrets without having to be asked. "How's it going?"

"It is going well," Jasper drawled.

"Speak for yourself," Melody snapped.

I leaned half out the window and raised an eyebrow. "What's got your panties all in a bunch?"

"She's just grumpy because Embry's not here to pick her up," Clara giggled.

"Oh really?" I eyed my little sister. "Embry was supposed to pick you up?"

Melody crossed her arms in a pout, looking away. "No," she muttered irritably, "he wasn't supposed to pick me up."

"Ah, so this is one of those hope-he'll-read-your-mind things?"

Melody glared at me. I cracked a grin. "Yep," chirped Clara.

I laughed. "Don't think it's gonna happen today Sissy," I told Melody, still grinning. Melody's scowl didn't fade, if anything it intensified. I shrugged. "Well, if you're gonna be that way be that way in the truck. As soon as Michael and Andrew are here we're headin' home."

Melody, still frightfully unhappy, and Clara threw their backpacks into the back then climbed up into the cab—Melody ever so generously allowed Clara to ride shotgun. It was few minutes before Andrew and Michael showed up but when they did we said our goodbyes to the Cullens and drove out of the parking lot.

It took maybe twenty minutes to get home. Mom met us at the door and pulled me aside. "I got a call from Carlisle today," she said. "He has requested that you and your brothers meet with him and the rest of the coven at his house tonight to discuss something very important."

I nodded. Knowing Uncle Carlisle he probably hadn't told Mom what exactly was going on. I could tell she was worried but for right now it would be best if she didn't know anything. I'd tell her later but only if necessary.

"I am allowing you to go and but that doesn't mean you can forget what happened and what I said on Saturday; you're still grounded. You might be the Pride Leader but I am your mother and I rule this roost, ok?"

I smiled and hugged her. "I love you Mom. "

She hugged me back. "I love you too. Now go on and grab you brothers; Carlisle is waiting for you."

I quickly collected Mike and Andy from their separate rooms (it was their first time to have separate rooms in their entire lives). "C'mon boys! We're going to the Cullens."

They perked up immediately and followed me out the door. Halfway across the yard I pulled off my cute long sleeved aqua v-neck and looped it through the hair tie around my wrist. That would keep it from being left behind when I Shifted. Under my shirt I was wearing a plain tan bra which gave me more decent cover than the other times I had wandered around without a shirt recently. Usually I wouldn't have been bothered by what some would have called my recent indecency but we were going to go see Uncle Carlisle and Aunt Esme; they're good opinion mattered a lot to me.

I Shifted when I reached the tree line, Michael and Andrew close on my heels. We trotted through the forest in relative silence. It was a beautiful day. The sun had burned through the overcast clouds of the school day and sunlight made patterns through the trees. The forest smelled rich and earthy. Moss and ferns, bright green against a dark brown backdrop, covered the forest floor. Flowering bushes broke the carpet of green with reds, yellows, blues, purples and pinks.

We were passing through a dried up sandy riverbed, the ground on our right a little higher than on our left. I was just beginning to relax when suddenly a huge furry brown _thing_ crashed down in front of me. I jumped back. _What the hell?_

Michael hissed.

A bear. A freaking _bear._

The grizzly bear stood on its hind legs. I might be abnormally large for a mountain lion but I had nothing on this bear. On its hind legs it stood close to seven feet tall; I was just over five feet. It glowered down at us with its big dumb brown eyes.

_What do we do?_ Andrew asked.

The bear took one lumbering step forward. A fallen branch as big around as my arm snapped under its massive paw.

I scrambled back, pushing Michael and Andrew back too. _Uh…_

Damn. Pit me against a Vampire, no problem; a bear? Not in the job description. This encounter was doing wonders for my reputation.

_Chris?!_ Michael and Andrew yelled.

I took a deep breath. _Back up slowly_, I said quietly, as if the bear could hear us.

We edged back. The bear snarled. We froze.

_Now what?_ Andrew squeaked.

_Run?_

We ran. Don't laugh. What would you do if you were faced with a four hundred pound grizzly bear? Besides, that thing had claws as long as my fingers.


End file.
